AMERICAN  DEMOCRAQ  AND 
ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 


SIDNEY  L.CULICR 


UN]VERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  02243  0912 


Soca  Sciences  &  Humanities  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Please  Note:  This  item  is  subject  to  recall. 

Date  Due 


UCSD  Lib. 


AMERICAN  DEMOCRACY 

AND 

ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 


AMERICAN  DEMOCRACY 

AND 

ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 


BY 
SIDNEY  L.   GULICK,  D.D. 

BBCBETABT   OP  THE  COMMISSION   ON   DJTEBNATIONAL   JtUSTICE  AND  GOODWILL,    AND    OF 

THE  COMMISSION  ON  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  OBIENT,   OF  THE  FEDEBAL 

COUNCIL  OP  THE  CHUBCHE8  OF  CHBI8T  IN  AMEBICA 

AUTBOB  OF  "  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  JAPANESE,  SOCIAL  AND  PSYCHIC,"  "  THE  WHITE  PERIL  W 
THE   FAB   EAST,"    "  THE  AMERICAN   JAPANESE  PROBLEM,"    "  WOBKINQ    WOMEN   OF 
JAPAN,"  "aMEBICA  and  THE  ORIENT."      IN  JAPANESE  :  "  aHINSHINKWABON  " 
(cosmic    EVOLUTION),    "jINBUl    8HINKWABON "    ChUMAN    EVOLU- 
TION}, "  KWAGAKU  GAIRON"  (GENERAL  DISCUSSIONS  AND 

a   classification   of    human    knowledge}, 
"deutsch  shinqaku  ritaku  shl" 

(sketch   of   the   HISTORY   0» 
GEBMAN  THEOLOOY} 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1918 


COPTBIQHT,   1918,  BY 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Published  February.  1918 


CONTENTS 

PART  I— POLITICAL 

CHAPTEB  PAGE 

I.    The  New  Asia  and  Its  Significance  for  America  3 

II.    Japan:  Her  Problems  and  Claims 14 

III.  China:  Our  Treaties  and  Our  Treatment    ...  30 

IV.  An  Historical  Sketch  of  Legislation  Dealing 

WITH  Immigration 49 

V.    An  Historical  Sketch  of  Legislation  Dealing 

with  Naturalization 54 

VI.    Democracy  and  Citizenship 80 

VII.    The  Rights  and  Duties  of  Nations 91 

VIII.    A  Policy  and  a   Programme  for  Constructive 

Immigration  Legislation 105 

IX.    Criticisms  Criticised 122 

PART  II— STATISTICAL 

X.    Chinese  in  the  United  States 137 

XL    Japanese  in  the  United  States 162 

XII.    Situation  on  the  Pacific  Coast 188 

XIII.    Situation  in  the  Hawaiian  Islaitos 220 

XIV.    Conclusion 252 


INTRODUCTION 

The  American  Japanese  problem  remains  un- 
solved. Diplomatic  correspondence  over  the  ques- 
tions at  issue  between  the  two  governments  came 
to  a  stop  in  the  summer  of  1914,  neither  being  satis- 
fied with  the  position  assumed  by  the  other,  and 
neither  seeing  what  the  next  step  should  be  to  reach 
a  position  satisfactory  to  both. 

Important  writers  of  both  lands  have  continued 
vigorously  to  discuss  the  international  situation. 
In  each  land  there  are  those  who  denounce  the 
alleged  weakness  of  their  own  government  in  deal- 
ing with  the  asserted  aggressive  deeds  and  policies 
of  the  other.  Such  writers,  however,  are  danger- 
ous guides.  Urging  our  "right"  and  denouncing 
their  "wrong"  does  not  help  to  solve  actual  prob- 
lems. In  spite  of  the  fury  of  their  fine  writing  and 
their  hysterical  exhortations  they  make  no  impor- 
tant contribution  to  the  solution  of  the  problems 
or  to  the  establishment  of  permanently  right  and 
mutually  satisfactory  relations. 

On  account  of  the  strained  relations  that  devel- 
oped between  America  and  Japan  in  1913  over  the 
California  Anti-Alien  Land  Law,  the  Federal  Coun- 
cil of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  responding 

vii 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

to  appeals  from  missionaries  in  Japan,  established 
a  Commission  on  Relations  with  Japan  "to  study 
the  whole  question  in  its  relation  to  the  teaching  of 
Christ,"  and  "to  seek  to  rally  the  Christian  forces 
of  the  United  States  for  the  solution  of  the  problem, 
and  for  the  promotion  of  such  measures  as  are  in 
accord  with  the  highest  standards  of  Christian  states- 
manship." 

The  writer,  who  had  the  honor  to  present  to  the 
Federal  Council  the  memorial  of  the  missionaries, 
was  made  the  representative  of  the  commission, 
has  been  given  prolonged  extension  of  his  furlough, 
and  imder  the  auspices  of  the  commission  of  the 
Federal  Council  has  had  unusual  opportunity  for 
the  study  and  presentation  of  the  question  in  every 
part  of  the  country. 

His  twenty-six  years  of  missionary  service  in 
Japan,  and  this  experience  in  the  United  States,  in 
which  he  has  met  not  only  churchmen  but  large 
numbers  of  business  men  in  chambers  of  commerce 
and  trade  boards,  as  well  as  representatives  of 
organized  labor,  particularly  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
have  led  the  writer  to  certain  definite  cojiclusions 
as  to  the  problem  itself,  and  also  as  to  the  true 
methods  for  its  solution.  These  conclusions  have 
been  presented  in  various  volumes,  pamphlets,  and 
magazine  articles,  which  present,  of  course,  his  own 
views  and  convictions,  and  for  which  the  commis- 
sion of  the  Federal  Council  is  not  responsible. 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

The  discussions  of  this  volume  are  strictly  limited 
to  the  field  selected  for  consideration;  namely,  the 
legislation  which  should  now  be  enacted  by  Congress 
in  order  that  America  may  do  her  part  in  setting 
right  our  relations  with  the  Far  East.  Americans 
should  reahze  that  modern  Asia  has  rendered  not 
only  obsolete  but  dangerous  any  policy  that  ignores 
their  problems,  needs,  and  essential  rights. 

The  only  real  solution  of  the  new  problem  that 
has  been  set  for  the  entire  world  by  the  new  Japan 
and  the  new  China  is  to  be  found  in  our  adoption  of 
a  new  Oriental  policy  and  programme.  That  poHcy 
and  programme  should  embody  two  fundamental 
principles: 

While,  on  the  one  hand,  it  should  provide  real  prelec- 
tion Jor  the  Pacific  coast  States  from  the  dangers  of 
excessive  Asiatic  immigration; 

It  should  also,  on  the  other  hand,  give  to  Asiatics  the 
same  courtesy  of  treatment  and  the  same  equality  of 
rights  as  America  readily  accords  to  all  other  people, 
whether  they  come  from  Europe,  Africa,  or  South 
America. 

To  the  casual  thinker  these  two  principles  may 
seem  to  be  not  merely  incompatible  but  positively 
contradictory.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  they  are 
not  necessarily  either  incompatible  or  contradictory. 

The  policy  that  embodies  both  these  essentials 
may  be  summed  up  in  two  principal  propositions: 

First.  All  immigration  should  be  regulated  by  the 


X  INTRODUCTION 

principle  that  America  shall  admit  only  so  many 
immigrants  from  any  particular  people  as  she  can 
genuinely  Americanize. 

Second.  Privileges  of  citizenship  should  he  given  to 
every  individual  who  personally  qualifies,  regardless 
of  his  race. 

Regulation  of  all  immigration  on  a  percentage 
principle  affords  the  protection  needed  by  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  indeed  by  the  entire  country,  from  an 
excessive  immigration  from  any  land. 

The  granting  of  naturahzation  to  every  individual 
who  qualifies  removes  all  himailiating  race  discrimi- 
nation, which  discrimination  is  particularly  resented 
just  now  by  Japan. 

"file  present  volume  seeks  to  present  the  various 
facts  and  factors  involved  in  the  new  world-situa- 
tion, and  to  consider  carefully  the  various  ques- 
tions that  arise  when  one  tries  to  think  through  the 
pros  and  cons  of  the  above  proposals. 

For  example,  the  student  of  the  subject  needs  to 
know  much  about  modem  Japan,  her  problems  and 
her  claims,  for  only  so  can  he  understand  why 
America  cannot  carry  out  international  poHcies  as 
though  Japan  were  not  on  the  map.  He  needs  to 
know,  moreover,  not  only  the  new  China  that  is 
looming  up,  but  also  the  facts  of  our  treatment  of 
China  and  the  Chinese  during  the  past  decades. 
These  subjects  are  therefore  presented  in  Chapters 
I,  II,  and  III.    Other  chapters  show  how  our  deal- 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

ings  with  Asiatics  permanently  residing  in  our  coun- 
try have  inevitable  relations  with  our  ideals  of  de- 
mocracy— with  the  very  foundations,  indeed^  of  our 
government  and  of  our,institutions. 

The  student  needs  still  further  to  know  in  some 
detail  the  history  of  our  federal  legislation  dealing 
with  unmigration  and  naturahzation,  and  with 
their  effects  on  Asiatic  immigration.  He  needs  also 
to  know  the  character  of  the  Chinese  and  Japanese 
permanently  settled  in  the  United  States.  Atten- 
tion is  therefore  given  to  these  subjects. 

What,  moreover,  are  the  facts  as  to  the  processes 
of  Americanization  that  have  been  moulding  our 
Oriental  population  both  on  the  Pacific  coast  and 
in  Hawaii  ?  These  matters  are  discussed  in  Chapters 
XII  and  XIII. 

It  is  in  the  light  of  all  these  facts  that  a  new  na- 
tional poHcy  is  proposed.  This  policy  deals  with 
methods  for  the  regulation  of  immigration  and  with 
standards  for  the  naturahzation  of  aliens.  Free 
and  frank  discussion  of  these  proposals  is  earnestly 
invited. 

The  heavy  work  of  securing  from  the  many  re- 
ports of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  the  data  needed 
for  the  statistical  summaries  given  in  Part  II  was 
done  by  Mr.  Thomas  P.  Jones  and  Miss  Frances  E. 
Atwater.  For  this  invaluable  aid  the  author  wishes 
to  express  his  indebtedness.    To  his  sister  also,  Mrs. 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

F.  F.  Jewett,  the  author  owes  more  than  can  easily 
be  told  for  repeated  careful  reading  of  the  manuscript 
in  its  various  stages  of  development,  and  for  numer- 
ous suggestions  of  the  highest  value. 

The  inadequacy  of  the  statistical  section  of  this 
volume  the  writer  keenly  regrets.  He  is  painfully 
aware  of  the  perils  of  statistics — ^both  those  due  to 
faulty  handling  and  also  those  of  positive  error  in 
computation,  transcription,  and  proofreading.  Who- 
ever reports  errors  detected  will  earn  his  gratitude. 

Sidney  L.  Gulick. 


PART  I 
POLITICAL 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  NEW  ASIA  AND  ITS  SIGNIFICANCE 
FOR  AMERICA 

Asia  is  no  longer  a  sleeping  giant  whose  wealth 
may  be  ruthlessly  exploited  and  whose  vital  inter- 
ests may  be  haughtily  ignored.  The  West  and  par- 
ticularly the  United  States  should  awake  to  the 
significance  of  the  New  Asia.  West  and  East 
must  find  methods  for  mutually  advantageous  co- 
operation, good-will,  and  respect,  or  their  rivalries, 
jealousies,  and  struggles  will  carry  both  down  to 
destruction  in  frightful  tragedies. 

Europe's  catastrophe  has  suddenly  shown  how 
closely  interwoven  is  the  fabric  of  the  modern 
world.  The  interlinking  of  the  life  and  interests  of 
the  nations  had  advanced  much  further  than  was 
realized.  Even  Asia  begins  to  figure  as  a  mighty 
factor  in  Occidental  affairs.  Some  regard  this  as 
ominous.  We  talk  of  the  "yellow  peril";  yet  for 
decades,  nay,  for  centuries,  Asiatics  feared  and 
opposed  an  actual  and  progressively  overmastering 
"white  perH." 

For  three  hundred  years  geographical  barriers 
have   been   rapidly  vanishing,  barriers  that  sepa- 


4      DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

rated  mankind  into  groups  and  furnished  the  condi- 
tions under  which  they  grew  into  diverse  races  and 
civilizations. 

Now  that  oceans  and  mountains  have  vanished, 
mighty  races  find  themselves  face  to  face.  The  things 
that  keep  them  apart  to-day  are  languages,  civiliza- 
tions, color,  facial  appearance,  and  especially  prej- 
udices and  group  selfishness.  The  increasing  con- 
tact of  nations  and  races  has  been  long  in  progress, 
but  has  now  been  suddenly  revealed.  It  began 
afresh  in  modern  times  with  the  discovery  and  the 
conquest  of  America  by  the  white  peoples  of  Eu- 
rope. The  coasts  of  Africa  and  the  southern  part 
of  Asia  gradually  came  under  their  control. 

But  with  the  white  man's  most  recent  discoveries 
in  science,  and  the  mastery  of  her  secrets  and  titanic 
forces,  his  power  has  increased  in  the  most  extraor- 
dinary way.  This  has  led  to  fresh  incursions  into 
unexplored  regions  in  search  of  stores  of  unde- 
veloped wealth — wealth  which  he  has  seized  with 
little  regard  for  the  interests  or  rights  of  native 
populations. 

Thus  has  the  white  man  too  often  proved  a  "white 
peril "  to  the  native  populations  of  every  land  whither 
his  curiosity  or  desire  for  wealth  has  taken  him. 

The  first  effectual  repulse  of  white  men  by  men  of 
another  color  has  only  recently  come  from  Japan. 
Her  reaction  on  the  white  man's  approach  deserves 
special  attention,  as  through  her  all  Asia  is  rapidly 


THE  NEW  ASIA  5 

taking  on  new  forms  of  life  and  the  white  man  has 
begun  to  talk  about  the  "yellow  peril." 

Japan's  first  contact  with  white  men  from  Europe 
occurred  in  1541.  For  sixty  years  and  more  Euro- 
peans had  free  opportunity  in  Japan.  Under  the 
instruction  of  Roman  Catholic  missionaries,  several 
hundred  thousand  Japanese  became  Christians. 
Then  Japan  took  fright  at  the  white  man's  methods 
and  ambitions.  She  closed  her  doors,  expelled  the 
missionaries  and  merchants,  exi^erminated  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and,  until  1853,  lived  a  life  of  almost 
complete  seclusion.  No  Japanese  were  allowed  to 
leave  her  shores  nor  were  foreigners  allowed  to 
enter  her  land. 

AH  this  was  done  to  escape  the  Occidental  flood, 
which,  during  the  intervening  three  hundred  years, 
completely  engulfed  the  peoples  of  North,  Central, 
and  South  America,  and  large  parts  of  Africa,  Asia, 
and  Australia.  Even  China  was  seriously  humili- 
ated and  injured.  She  was  forced  by  the  so-called 
opium  wars  (1845  and  1858)  to  give  to  the  British 
not  only  privileges  for  ordinary  trade,  but  for  trade 
even  in  opium.  Military  and  naval  bases  were 
also  taken  by  Europeans. 

Japan  soon  discovered  that  she  was  unable  longer 
to  resist  the  encroachments  of  foreigners,  and  in 
1854  made  her  first  treaties.  After  a  dozen  years 
of  inner  turmoil  and  a  revolution,  she  frankly  ac- 
cepted  the   new   world-situation   created   by   the 


6     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

white  nations,  and  undertook  to  learn  their  methods 
in  order  to  meet  them  on  a  basis  of  equaHty. 

This  epoch-making  decision  was  announced  to 
the  nation  in  an  edict  of  five  articles  by  the  young 
Emperor,  who  as  the  first  Emperor  in  a  thousand 
years,  unhampered  by  a  dual  form  of  government, 
held  direct  rule  over  the  people.  The  edict  (1868) 
virtually  ordered  the  people  to  abandon  ancient  super- 
stition, to  prepare  for  representative  government,  and 
to  go  out  into  all  the  world  and  learn  whatever  was  good 
and  true. 

In  response  to  this  edict  a  psychological  as  well  as 
a  social,  industrial,  and  political  revolution  took 
place.  All  that  Japan  has  been  doing  for  fifty  years 
has  been  but  the  practical  carrying  out  in  concrete 
ways  of  the  new  ideal  and  the  new  national  policy 
that  was  then  proclaimed.  Recognizing  that  she 
could  no  longer  carry  out  her  historic  policy  of 
complete  isolation  and  self-sufficiency,  Japan  de- 
liberately plunged  into  the  life  of  the  world  in  order 
to  learn  its  best  and  to  incorporate  it  into  her  life 
in  such  ways  as  to  stand  upon  a  basis  of  equality 
with  the  other  great  nations  of  the  world. 

In  carrying  out  this  new  policy  Japan  reorganized 
the  entire  political,  social,  educational,  economic, 
and  industrial  order  of  her  ancient  civilization. 
The  sufferings  entailed  upon  her  people  by  the 
process  few  foreigners  know. 

During  the  major  part  of  this  period  of  storm 


THE  NEW  ASIA  7 

and  stress  in  which  she  was  adopting  and  adapting 
Western  customs,  methods,  and  machinery,  and 
striving  to  fit  herself  for  her  new  place  in  the  world, 
America's  treatment  of  Japan  was  above  reproach. 
Being  in  marked  contrast  to  that  of  other  lands, 
it  called  forth  a  gratitude  toward,  a  friendship  for, 
and  a  confidence  in,  America  that  Americans  can- 
not easily  realize.  Witness  our  helpful  diplomacy 
throughout  the  entire  period,  our  return  (1883) 
of  the  Shimonoseki  indemnity  ($875,000)  with 
$30,000  interest  (used  by  Japan  in  preparing  for 
foreign  commerce  the  harbor  facihties  of  Yoko- 
hama), the  religious,  educational,  and  philanthropic 
work  of  American  missionaries,  and  especially  our 
welcome  in  America  to  her  students,  giving  them 
every  opportunity,  not  only  in  our  schools,  colleges, 
and  Christian  homes,  but  in  our  factories  and  in- 
dustries. 

The  processes  of  reorganization  and  acquisition, 
however,  are  now  largely  over.  The  consequences 
are  beginning  to  appear.  The  West  is  awakening 
to  what  has  happened.  It  sees  Japan's  power,  both 
actual  and  potential.  Fear  and  suspicion  are  de- 
veloping. For  Japan  is  now  equipped  with  "  civiliza- 
tion," with  factories  and  shipyards,  with  bayonets, 
bullets,  and  battleships,  and  wdth  Occidental  ideas 
and  with  ideals  as  to  the  right  of  virile  nations  to 
expand,  and  to  dominate  over  those  that  are  weak 
or  backward,   taking  possession   of  their  natural 


8     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

wealth  and  exploiting  their  laboring  classes.  Two 
important  and  successful  wars — with  China  and  with 
Russia — and  the  annexation  of  Korea,  have  startled 
the  world — both  the  East  and  the  West. 

China,  too,  is  now  moving.  Japan's  successes 
and  Europe's  fresh  aggressions  have  at  last  awakened 
that  mighty  people.  In  the  nineties  the  "Powers" 
of  Europe,  having  completed  their  "division  of 
Africa,"  began  to  look  with  greedy  eyes  on  China. 
In  1896  Germany,  Russia,  and  France  compelled 
Japan  to  return  Port  Arthur  to  China  in  order  to 
maintain,  as  they  stated  m  their  deceitful  diplomacy, 
the  integrity  of  China  and  the  permanent  peace  of 
the  Far  East.  But  in  1897-1898  Germany  took 
Kiao-Chao  as  indemnity  for  the  killing  of  two  Ger- 
man Jesuit  missionaries.  Russia  received  Port 
Arthur  as  a  reward  for  having  kept  Japan  out  of  the 
same.  England  took  Wei-hai-wei  and  France  took 
Kwan-chau-wan  to  keep  up  "the  balance."  In 
each  case  the  impotent  Manchu  government  made 
treaties  with  those  "friendly  Powers,"  giving  them 
concessions  and  "rights."  But  the  people  of  China 
grew  anxious.  There  soon  developed  (1900)  the 
"Boxer  uprising."  China's  common  people  of  the 
north  sought  to  turn  the  white  man  out  and  keep 
"China  for  the  Chinese." 

But  it  was  too  late.  Six  "civilized"  armies 
marched  up  to  Peking,  and,  to  teach  China  a  lesson 
regarding  the  sacredness  of  treaties  and  the  white 


THE  NEW  ASIA  9 

man's  "rights,"  in  addition  to  the  outrages  and  de- 
struction wrought  by  the  soldiers,  they  saddled 
upon  China  an  indemnity  exceeding  S300,000,000; 
far  exceeding  the  actual  costs.    Poor  China ! 

Then,  according  to  mutual  agreement,  all  the  allies 
withdrew  their  troops  to  their  home  lands,  except 
Russia.  Ignoring  her  promise,  she  not  only  left 
her  troops  in  Manchuria,  but  began  to  send  in  thou- 
sands more.  Japan  became  anxious.  Negotiations 
were  started.  Russia  procrastinated,  meanwhile 
increasing  her  east  Siberian  forces,  completing  her 
Siberian  railroad,  and  gaining  diplomatic  and  other 
footholds  in  Korea.  This  exasperating,  insolent, 
and  ominous  policy  caused  the  Russo-Japanese 
War. 

Japan  felt  that  the  complete  possession  by  Russia 
of  Manchuria,  Mongolia,  and  Korea  threatened  her 
very  existence  as  an  independent  nation.  The 
"partition  of  China"  also  by  the  European  nations 
would  surely  follow.  But  Japan's  acquisition  of 
Occidental  "civilization"  had  been  so  far  successful 
that  single-handed,  though  indirectly  supported  by 
her  alliance  with  Great  Britain,  she  beat  back  the 
"bear  from  the  north"  and  saved,  not  only  herself, 
but  China  also  from  the  threatened  European  in- 
vasion that  had  swept  over  all  of  south  Asia  from 
Mesopotamia  to  Cochin-China,  and  of  north  Asia 
from  European  Russia  to  Alaska. 

One  month  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace 


10   DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

between  Russia  and  Japan  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H., 
China's  conservative  leaders  at  last  saw  the  light 
and  definitely  abandoned  her  ancient  and  proud 
policy  of  self-sufficiency.  From  that  wondrous 
victory  of  Japan  over  Russia,  China  learned  that 
knowledge  from  the  West  such  as  Japan  had  been 
acquiring  for  forty  years  could  alone  enable  Asiatics 
to  meet  white  aggressors  successfully.  The  ultra- 
conservative  Empress  Dowager,  who  had  been 
cutting  off  the  heads  of  reformers  both  literally  and 
metaphorically,  became  herself  a  great  reformer. 
She  abolished  China's  ancient  system  of  classical 
education  and  ordered  the  introduction  throughout 
the  empire  of  Occidental  education.  This  was  in 
1906. 

The  changes  that  have  followed  in  the  intervening 
years  have  been  beyond  beHef  to  those  who  thought 
they  knew  China.  Millions  of  Chinese  are  studying 
Western  ways.  Nearly  1,400  Chinese  students  are 
now  in  American  institutions  of  learning.  Tens  of 
thousands  of  Chinese  young  men  have  studied  in 
Japan  since  the  war  with  Russia,  seeking  short  cuts 
to  Western  knowledge.  In  1910  and  1911  some 
15,000  Chinese  students  were  studying  in  the  single 
city  of  Tokyo,  Japan.  Not  for  centuries  has  China's 
outlook  been  so  bright.  In  1912  the  alien  Manchu 
dynasty  was  driven  from  the  throne.  Repeated 
efforts  for  the  re-establishment  of  monarchy  have 
failed.    The  nation  is  pushing  forward  with  remark- 


THE  NEW  ASIA  11 

able  insistence  for  modern  forms  of  government 
and  for  alignment  with  the  life  of  the  West.  The 
opium  trade  has  been  stopped  and  its  curse  has 
been  substantially  overcome.  Political  graft  is  be- 
ing eliminated.  Occidental  education  is  proceeding, 
and  desire  for  reforms  is  wide-spread.  If  China  can 
avoid  further  alien  intrusion,  her  future  is  decidedly 
hopeful. 

A  New  China  is  now  clearly  above  the  inter- 
national horizon.  Her  young  men  are  training  for 
intelligent  leadership  of  that  mighty  people.  In  two 
or  three  decades  they  will  be  guiding  China's  policies. 
Will  they  be  friendly  or  hostile  to  us? 

The  Orient  is  acquiring  a  new  life — a  new  vitality. 
The  motive  power  that  will  more  and  more  direct 
its  policies  is  twofold.  The  first  factor  is  practical. 
It  will  come  from  the  pressure  of  an  increasing  popu- 
lation— ^pressure  that  will  grow  mightily  with  eveiy 
new  decade.  For  Occidental  hygiene,  medical 
science,  and  ideals  as  to  the  value  of  the  individual 
will  rapidly  multiply  China's  millions.  Japan's 
population  has  doubled  in  fifty  years.  Will  China's 
population  do  the  same?  Where  will  they  live? 
Whence  will  they  secure  their  food  ? 

The  second  factor  is  psychological.  Orientals 
are  not  lacking  in  pride,  in  courage,  in  determination, 
and  in  ideals.  An  armed  Orient  will  resent  dis- 
courtesy, humiliation,  and  unfair  dealing.  It  will 
fight  for  honor — for  equal  treatment.    If  the  West 


12    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

claims  superiority  and  right  based  on  might,  the 
East  when  ready  will  challenge  its  claim  and  test  its 
might. 

The  adoption  by  Japan  and  China  of  the  mechan- 
ical, economic,  social,  and  political  elements  of  Occi- 
dental civilization  constitutes  indeed  the  beginning 
of  a  new  era  in  human  history.  We  are  not  at  the 
end  but  at  the  beginning  of  the  mighty  movements 
in  Asia  that  are  transforming  them.  The  impact 
of  the  West  on  the  East  is  now  beginning  to  bring  re- 
sults that  were  not  anticipated.  Asia  has  been  com- 
pelled by  the  pressure  of  the  West  to  realize  that  she 
could  not  carry  on  her  life  regardless  of  the  West. 
The  West  is  beguming  to  discover  that  she  cannot 
carry  on  her  life  regardless  of  the  East. 

More  and  more  the  essential  unity  and  community 
of  mankind  is  coming  to  light.  No  fragment,  no 
nation  can  continue  longer  to  live  as  if  it  were  the 
whole.  Each  part  must  accept  its  place  as  a  part 
of  the  whole  and  live  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole. 
Failure  to  do  this  will  bring  disaster  after  disaster, 
if  not  complete  destruction. 

A  New  Asia  means  a  new  world.  Each  half.  East 
and  West,  White  and  Yellow,  must  in  some  way 
overcome  its  inherited  tendencies  to  arrogance  and 
pride,  selfishness  and  greed.  We  are  members  one 
of  another.  We  must  adjust  our  national  policies, 
our  political  and  economic  relations,  and  our  mental 
attitudes  in  order  both  to  express  and  to  realize  the 


THE  NEW  ASIA  13 

new  life  upon  which  the  entire  human  brotherhood 
is  inevitably  and  irrevocably  entering. 

To  appreciate  these  matters  the  better  we  shall 
study  in  the  following  chapters  the  problems  and  the 
claims  of  Japan  and  China,  the  history  of  our  legisla- 
tion dealing  with  immigration  and  naturalization, 
the  relation  of  citizenship  to  democracy,  and  the 
rights  and  duties  of  nations. 

We  shall  then  present  in  outline  the  needed  policy 
and  programme  for  dealing  with  the  entire  problem. 


/ 


CHAPTER  II 
JAPAN:    HER  PROBLEMS  AND  CLAIMS 


Japan's  entrance  into  the  life  of  the  world  and 
acceptance  of  the  civilization  of  the  West  has  not 
been  to  her  an  unmixed  blessing.  In  important 
respects  her  problems  have  become  more  intense. 
Her  modern  system  of  universal  education  giving 
world  outlook,  ideals,  and  ambitions  to  millions  of 
her  young  men  and  women;  her  extraordinary  in- 
dustrial development  and  international  trade  bring- 
ing wealth  and  a  higher  scale  of  life  to  millions,  but 
also  bringing  grinding  toil,  poverty,  disease,  and 
wretchedness  to  other  millions;  her  new  poHtical 
system  giving  responsibility  for  national  as  well  as 
for  local  government  and  causing  the  entire  nation 
to  consider  and  decide  upon  international  relations 
and  poHcies;  her  new  ideals  as  to  the  value  and 
rights  of  the  individual  begetting  throughout  the 
nation  a  spirit  of  insistence  on  rights  and  a  forget- 
ting of  the  importance  of  service  and  the  neces- 
sity of  duty;  her  modern  hygiene  and  her  medical 
and  surgical  efficiency  giving  remarkable  success  in 
battling  with  epidemics  no  less  than  with  the  regular 
diseases,  and  making  possible  a  lower  death-rate  and 
a  longer  average  of  life — these  many  blessings  have 
brought  also  many  new  problems. 


14 


JAPAN  15 

The  full  discussion  of  these  problems,  however,  is 
no  part  of  our  plan.  We  need  to  consider  them 
only  so  far  as  they  throw  light  on  the  character  of  the 
poHcy  which  America  should  adopt  in  her  dealings 
with  Japan. 

Japan's  old  policy  kept  her  people  at  home,  al- 
most stationary  in  numbers  and  relatively  docile  and 
contented.  Her  new  policy  opens  their  eyes  to  the 
great  world,  gives  them  efficiency  in  dealing  with  it, 
multiplies  her  millions  and  fires  them  with  ambi- 
tion both  personal  and  national.  Mighty  economic 
and  psychological  forces  are  at  work  sweeping  the 
entire  nation  along  in  its  course  and  making  certain 
for  Japan  an  important  role  in  international  affairs. 

A  few  concrete  facts  may  help  Americans  to  under- 
stand the  situation  better,  and  to  sympathize  more 
truly  with  the  people  as  they  face  their  modern 
problems. 

Japan  proper  has  an  area  of  147,000  square  miles 
(California  has  158,000),  of  which  one-sixth,  or  about 
15,000,000  acres,  is  under  cultivation.  Many  States 
have  more  cultivated  land  than  has  Japan  (Kansas 
has  30,000,000;  Nebraska,  24,000,000;  Indiana, 
17,000,000;  New  York,  14,000,000;  Ohio,  19,000,- 
000).  The  average  farm  in  Japan  is  two  and  a  half 
acres,  a  half-acre  to  each  individual  on  the  farm,  and 
a  quarter-acre  to  each  inhabitant  of  the  nation. 

Tenants  pay  for  farm  rentals  57  per  cent  of  their 
rice,  and  44  per  cent  of  other  crops.    Taxes  consume 


16     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

16  per  cent  of  the  total  yield  of  the  farms.  Fanner 
debts  amount  to  $475,000;000,  paying  interest  rates 
from  7  per  cent  to  20  per  cent.  The  total  private 
income  of  Japanese  is  taxed  at  from  20  to  30  per  cent. 

The  population  of  Japan  proper  is  nearly  55,- 
000,000,  growing  yearly  by  about  700,000.  (Great 
Britain  has  46,000,000;  Canada,  8,000,000;  Aus- 
tralia, 6,000,000;  and  New  Zealand,  1,100,000;  total, 
about  60,000,000.) 

With  the  exception  of  copper,  Japan  is  poor  in 
mineral  resources.  While  the  coal  production  of 
the  United  States  was  458,000,000  tons  in  1916,  that 
of  Japan  was  22,000,000  tons,  only  enough  to  supply 
the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  for  eight  months. 
Japan  has  no  iron  to  speak  of,  and  no  cotton.  She 
sells  large  quantities  of  her  high-grade  rice  to  foreign 
lands  and  imports  low-grade  rice  for  herself  from 
China. 


"  It  has  often  been  pointed  out  that  the  population 
of  Japan  is  not  so  dense  as  in  Belgium  or  England. 
But  Belgium  and  England  are  almost  wholly  arable; 
Japan  is  almost  wholly  mountainous.  If  we  elimi- 
nate from  the  figures  of  area  the  unproductive  lands 
of  each  country,  the  population  per  square  mile  works 
out  approximately:  England,  466;  Belgium,  702; 
Japan,  2,688.  A  population  of  2,688  on  every  square 
mile  of  arable  land — ^less  than  a  quarter  of  an  acre 
of  land  for  each  person !  There  is  more  good  land 
in  mountainous  Kentucky  than  in  all  Japan."  * 

*  "Japan  and  America,"  by  Carl  Crow,  p.  11. 


JAPAN  17 

Japan's  problem  is  how  adequately  to  feed,  clothe, 
house,  and  educate  her  multiplying  millions  and  give 
them  that  larger,  richer  life  of  the  modern  world  for 
which  their  intelligence,  industry,  education,  ambi- 
tions, and  world  outlook  are  fitting  them. 

Were  Americans  under  the  physical  and  economic 
conditions  of  the  Japanese  sketched  above,  would 
they  not  regard  their  load  and  their  problems  as 
staggering?  And  would  they  not  feel  compelled 
to  avail  themselves  of  every  possible  opportunity 
for  trade,  emigration,  and  legitimate  territorial 
expansion?  And  with  their  history  and  intrinsic 
ability,  would  they  not  earnestly  ask  of  the  nations 
of  the  world  a  square  deal,  equal  treatment,  and 
honorable  recognition  ? 

If  America  were  in  Japan's  place  as  to  population, 
food-supphes,  and  natural  resources,  what  would  she 
do? 

The  mutual  impact  of  the  expanding  life  of  both 
Japan  and  the  United  States  comes  at  three  points, 
and  requires  some  kind  of  adjustment  of  policies, 
if  these  two  powerful,  ambitious,  and  able  nations 
are  to  live  together  as  good  neighbors. 

These  three  points  of  impact  as  they  have  emerged 
historically,  relate  to  matters  of  Japanese  immigra- 
tion into  the  United  States,  to  the  treatment  of 
Japanese  in  the  United  States,  and  to  the  respective 
policies  of  the  two  nations  in  China.  With  reference 
to  the  third  point  we  present  no  discussion  in  this 


18     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

volume,  as  it  has  already  been  discussed  rather 
carefully  in  "America  and  the  Orient/',^  and  is  not 
immediately  connected  with  the  purpose  of  the 
present  volume. 

Nor  shall  we  discuss  the  general  features  of  Japa- 
nese immigration  to  California,  the  conditions  there, 
the  wrongs  they  have  done  and  also  suffered,  and 
the  improvement  in  the  general  situation  that  is 
now  beginning  to  take  place.  These  more  general 
aspects  of  Japanese  immigration  have  been  con- 
sidered at  some  length  in  the  earlier  chapters  of 
"The  American  Japanese  Problem. "^ 

In  this  chapter  I  wish  to  emphasize  the  difference 
between  the  view-points  of  the  Japanese  and  Ameri- 
can Governments,  and  also  of  their  respective  peo- 
ples in  regard  to  the  "gentlemen's  agreement."  In 
general  it  may  be  said  that  both  governments  are 
well  satisfied  with  its  nature  and  its  results  while 
the  peoples  are  not  satisfied. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  sees  that 
without  any  legislation  on  our  part,  Japan  by  her 
own  restrictive  policy  in  regard  to  the  issuing  of  pass- 
ports, beginning  in  1908,  has  practically  stopped  the 
coming  of  new  Japanese  labor  immigration  to  the 
United  States.    The  administration  of  the  Chinese 

1  "America  and  the  Orient,"  Sidney  L.  Gulick  (Missionary  Educa- 
tion Movement,  New  York,  1916). 

2  "The  American  Japanese  Problem,"  Sidney  L.  Gulick  (Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  1914). 


JAPAN  19 

exclusion  laws,  on  the  contrary,  has  caused  us  an 
enormous  amount  of  trouble  and  expense,  and  has 
necessitated  repeated  legislation;  and  even  so  our 
laws  have  been  continuously  evaded  by  considerable 
numbers  of  insistent  Chinese  immigrants.  Japan's 
administration  of  the  gentlemen's  agreement  is  more 
satisfactory  to  us  and  also  more  successful  than  our 
administration  of  our  own  Chinese  exclusion  laws. 

The  Japanese  Government  is  also  well  satisfied 
with  the  "agreement"  because  it  thereby  has  pre- 
vented the  enactment  by  the  United  States  of 
Japanese  exclusion  laws,  which  would  be  exceedingly 
humiliating,  as  they  would  subject  Japanese  to  the 
same  invidious  and  discriminatory  treatment  that 
has  been  inflicted  on  the  Chinese. 

The  people,  however,  in  both  countries  who  know 
of  the  "  agreement "  are  by  no  means  satisfied.  Some 
Americans  insist  that  the  restriction  of  Japanese  im- 
migration should  not  be  a  matter  of  Japanese  cour- 
tesy merely.  We  should  have  our  own  laws  regulat- 
ing the  matter.  Should  Japan  decide  to  suspend  the 
"agreement"  and  suddenly  send  over  to  us  tens  of 
thousands  of  immigrants  we  would  be  at  her  mercy, 
for  we  have  no  laws  that  would  authorize  their  re- 
jection or  deportation.  Americans  who  urge  this 
view,  however,  are  probably  not  many.  Most 
Americans  have  impHcit  trust  in  the  word  of  Japan. 
We  beUeve  most  confidently  that  she  will  continue 
faithfully  to  administer  the  "agreement." 


20     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

The  people  of  Japan,  on  the  other  hand,  milHons 
of  them,  keenly  resent  the  action  of  their  govern- 
ment in  giving  us  that  pledge  and  in  administering 
it  so  strictly.  Few  Americans  realize  what  it  means 
to  tens  of  thousands  of  ambitious  young  men  and 
women.  They  know  that  in  America  are  millions 
of  uncultivated  acres  and  vast  undeveloped  re- 
sources. They  are  eager  to  go  to  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,  where  gold  is  cheap  and  wages  high. 
They  are  able  and  willing  to  work.  They  cannot 
understand  why  their  government  should  enter 
upon  and  rigidly  enforce  a  policy  so  humiliating  and 
unfair. 

Does  not  America  open  her  doors  to  immigrants 
from  every  country  of  Europe?  they  ask.  Are 
Japanese  indeed  so  inferior  to  the  immigrants  of 
those  countries  that  they  are  not  worthy  of  equal 
opportunity  in  that  land  of  plenty  and  opportunity 
for  all?  America's  rejection  of  Chinese  immigra- 
tion is  indeed  intelligible,  for  Chinese  are  in  truth 
an  inferior  race.  But,  they  continue,  we  Japanese 
are  in  no  respects  inferior  to  Italians  and  Slavs, 
Turks  and  Armenians,  Africans  and  Mexicans.  We 
are  peaceable  and  industrious  and  efficient.  We  ask 
no  special  favors.  We  are  willing  to  take  only  what 
we  earn.  Why  then  does  America  deny  us  oppor- 
tunity ?  And  why  does  our  government  weakly  and 
shamefully  yield  to  such  a  dog-in-the-manger  policy 
and  so  insulting  to  our  race  ?    Is  America  dominated 


JAPAN  21 

by  race  selfishness,  and  her  poHcy  controlled  by  race 
pride  and  prejudice? 

'  Can  friendship  be  one-sided  ?  How  can  America 
profess  to  be  friendly  with  Japan  whose  immigrants 
in  small  numbers  she  refuses  at  the  very  time  that 
she  is  admitting  hundreds  of  thousands  from  peoples 
in  no  way  superior  ?  And  if  America  is  not  friendly 
to  Japan,  can  Japan  be  friendly  to  America?  How 
can  Japan  tamely  submit  to  a  treatment  and  a  re- 
lation that  is  virtually  an  insult,  an  unbearable 
humiliation  ? 

The  experience  is  biting  deep  iuto  their  national 
soul.  In  the  light  of  such  experience  and  reflections 
Japanese  admiration  of,  and  friendship  for,  America 
have  been  seriously  shaken  during  the  past  decade. 

Their  responsible  leaders,  however,  recognize  that 
they  are  at  present  caught  between  the  de\dl  and 
the  deep  sea.  Their  faithful  administration  of  the 
"gentlemen's  agreement,"  they  see,  alone  prevents 
America  from  passing  Japanese  exclusion  laws  simi- 
lar to  those  excluding  the  Chinese.  The  himailia- 
tion  of  that  situation  would  be  manifold  more  bit- 
ter than  the  present  humiliation.  The  government 
and  the  leading  Japanese  see  no  way  out  of  the 
present  predicament.  With  smiling  face  and  the 
best  of  grace  they  accordingly  give  assurances  that 
they  will  continue  the  "gentlemen's  agreement" 
in  full  force  in  the  interest  of  the  "historic  friend- 
ship" of  the  two  peoples. 


22     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

The  third  element  in  the  impact  of  the  policies  of 
America  and  Japan  is  the  treatment  of  Japanese 
already  in  the  United  States. 

An  anti-Japanese  movement  has  been  developing 
in  the  United  States  leading  to  differential  race  legis- 
lation. It  has  taken  acutest  form  in  the  California 
Anti-Alien  Land  Law.  Without  attempting  to  char- 
acterize this  movement  adequately  I  may  yet  de- 
scribe it  as  a  movement  partly  economic,  implic- 
itly confessing  fear  of  Japanese  superior  efficiency; 
partly  racial,  expressing  scorn,  disdain,  and  arrogance 
at  the  ambition  and  success  of  a  people  "instinc- 
tively "  felt  to  be  essentially  inferior;  partly  political, 
furnishing  opportunity  for  certain  individuals  and 
political  groups  to  gain  personal  or  party  advantage 
by  appealing  to  selfish  interest  and  race  prejudice 
against  sections  of  the  community  politically  help- 
less; and  partly  natural  and  inevitable,  arising  from 
numberless  mistakes,  misunderstandings,  and  mis- 
deeds of  individuals  of  different  race  groups  speak- 
ing different  languages  and  acting  under  different 
customs,  ideas,  and  ideals. 

Many  Americans  have  made  up  their  minds  that 
they  do  not  like  the  Japanese;  that  the  less  we  have 
to  do  with  them  the  better,  that  we  should  not  allow 
more  of  them  to  come  to  our  shores,  and  that  the 
sooner  and  the  more  completely  we  can  secure  the 
departure  of  those  already  here,  the  better.  They 
grasp  at  any  story  abusing  the  Japanese  or  putting 


JAPAN  23 

them  in  a  bad  light.  They  readily  believe  every- 
thing bad  said  about  them,  and  pass  on  the  story 
with  zest.  They  favor  any  form  of  legislation 
calculated  to  hamper  their  economic  opportunity 
without  regard  to  the  implications  and  the  interna- 
tional consequences. 

Because  of  these  feeHngs,  cultivated  by  a  certain 
section  of  the  press  and  now  widely  entertained, 
Japanese  in  America  often  suffer  personal  insult  and 
humiliation.  In  some  sections  of  our  land  they  are 
excluded  from  barber-shops;  in  others  from  restau- 
rants. Some  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
will  not  receive  them  into  full  membership.  Jap- 
anese travellers  tell  of  many  a  slight  and  humiliating 
insult  experienced  in  this  land  of  liberty.  The 
United  States  is  the  one  civilized  coimtry  to  which 
they  go  where  they  are  subjected  to  such  irritating 
and  humiliating  experiences. 

Of  course  most  Japanese  well  recognize  that  on 
the  other  hand  they  customarily  receive  splendid 
treatment  in  the  United  States.  Schools  and  col- 
leges are  open  to  them.  Individual  Japanese  have 
made  good  and  have  been  received  in  many  walks 
of  life,  as  business  men,  as  professors  in  colleges,  as 
physicians  and  surgeons,  as  experts  in  chemistry, 
biology,  and  various  sciences,  as  tennis-players,  and 
as  public  speakers  of  distinction.  In  social  rela- 
tions they  are  widely  accepted  in  most  sections  of 
the  United  States. 


24     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

In  spite,  however,  of  these  achievements  and  more 
favorable  relations,  Japanese  realize  that  their  sta- 
tus in  the  United  States  is  more  or  less  precarious, 
liable  to  sudden  reversal  and  humiliation.  A  dis- 
tinct Japanese  policy  has  accordingly  been  gradually 
forming  in  regard  to  this  matter.  It  is  a  policy  of 
insistence  on  equality  of  treatment  and  of  political 
opportunity.  They  refuse  to  accept  the  status  of 
race  inferiority  and  resent  any  expressions  of  word 
or  conduct,  and  especially  of  laws,  that  carry  that 
implication.  This  is  not  only  the  poKcy  of  Japanese 
individuals  but  of  the  nation  and  of  the  government. 
They  are  prepared  to  insist  in  every  legitimate  way 
that  in  a  land  where  liberty,  equahty,  and  fraternity 
are  so  emphasized,  in  a  land  that  proclaims  itself 
and  prides  itself  on  being  "Christian,"  they  shall 
enjoy  the  same  privileges  that  are  freely  granted  to 
men  of  various  other  nations  and  races.  They  will 
not  tamely  submit  to  any  disqualifying  treatment 
or  discriminatory  legislation  directed  against  them 
merely  because  they  are  Japanese.  Their  sensitive, 
high-strung  natures  resent  the  indignity,  both  per- 
sonal and  racial. 

The  very  purpose  of  the  "gentlemen's  agreement" 
so  far  as  Japan  was  concerned  was  to  make  needless 
any  anti-Japanese  legislation  in  America.  Cali- 
fornia's Anti- Alien  Land  Law  therefore  cut  deep  into 
the  heart  of  Japan — not  because  of  its  economic 
aspects,  but  because  of  its  humiliating  implication, 


JAPAN  25 

which,  moreover,  was  false — that  Japan  was  not 
faithfully  administering  the  "agreement,"  and  that 
Japanese  deserved  to  be  treated  differentially  be- 
cause of  their  race.  The  clever  phraseology  of  that 
law  by  which  it  sought  to  keep  within  the  Consti- 
tution and  the  treaty,  made  the  fundamental  issue 
perfectly  clear.  So  long  as  Japanese  are  regarded 
as  "ineligible  for  naturalization"  their  status  in  the 
United  States  is  precarious,  and  local  differential 
treatment  and  legislation  is  inevitable.  The  fun- 
damentally obnoxious  anti- Japanese  legislation  of 
the  United  States,  therefore,  is  not  that  of  Cali- 
fornia or  other  Western  States,  but  that  of  Congress 
itself,  defining  "eligibility  for  citizenship." 

The  question  of  Japanese  immigration,  and  the 
question  of  their  acquisition  of  the  privileges  of 
American  citizenship,  constitute  thus  the  two  foci 
of  the  American-Japanese  problem  concerning  which 
national  policies  are  more  or  less  in  conflict.  If 
harmony  and  genuine  good-will  are  to  be  maintained 
between  these  two  countries,  answers  for  both 
these  questions  must  be  found  that  will  satisfy  the 
sense  of  justice,  of  right,  and  of  fair  dealing  of  both 
nations. 

If  the  rigid  restriction  of  inmiigration  from  Japan 
and  the  exclusion  of  otherwise  qualified  Japanese 
from  the  privileges  of  American  citizenship  entirely 
on  the  ground  of  their  race  are  really  right  and 
necessary,  these  positions  and  the  laws  embodying 


26     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

them  must  be  based  on  gromids  and  carried  out  by 
methods  that  imply  neither  race  arrogance  nor  eco- 
nomic race  selfishness.  Japan  will  then  be  satisfied. 
If  these  policies  and  laws  are  not  or  cannot  be  thus 
grounded  and  administered  they  must  be  given  up. 
Americans  must  be  led  to  this  position  by  considera- 
tions of  fair  play,  the  square  deal,  and  enlightened 
self-interest. 

Japan  and  America  are  neighbors  and  will  always 
remain  so.  They  must  follow  the  principles  of 
neighborliness,  each  having  a  care  for  the  welfare 
and  good-will  of  the  other.  This  may  at  times  re- 
quire self-sacrifice  and  surrender  of  "rights."  But 
these  are  the  conditions  of  all  human  life  that  is 
noble  and  worth  while.  Nations  no  less  than  in- 
dividuals win  greatness  by  service  and  are  called  on 
to  forego  selfish  advantage  at  the  expense  of  neigh- 
bors. No  nation  liveth  to  itself.  Nations  as  well 
as  individuals  are  members  one  of  another.  Any 
selfish  or  arrogant  action  or  attitude  that  America 
may  take  that  is  humiliating  or  harmful  to  Japan 
cannot  fail  to  have  its  harmful  reaction  on  America. 
The  permanent  peace  of  the  Pacific  can  be  main- 
tained only  by  neighbors  that  are  mutually  cour- 
teous, considerate,  and  willing  to  co-operate  for  each 
other's  welfare. 

In  order  that  we  may  more  adequately  under- 
stand the  concrete  facts  of  the  situation  we  should 
also  study  the  statistics  of  Japanese  immigration 


JAPAN  27 

and  emigration,  and  the  extent,  distribution,  and 
character  of  the  Japanese  population  that  has 
entered  upon  permanent  residence  in  this  country. 
These  facts  are  presented  in  Chapters  XI,  XII,  and 
XIII. 

Appendix  to  Chapter  II 

"If  one  race  assumes  the  right  to  appropriate 
all  the  wealth,  why  should  not  all  the  other  races 
feel  ill  used  and  protest?  If  the  yellow  races  are 
oppressed  by  the  white  races,  and  have  to  revolt  to 
avoid  congestion  and  maintain  existence,  whose 
fault  is  it  but  that  of  the  aggressors?  ...  If  the 
white  races  truly  love  peace,  and  wish  to  deserve  the 
name  of  Christian  nations,  they  will  practice  what 
they  preach  and  will  soon  restore  to  us  the  rights  so 
long  withheld.  .  .  .  Any  suggestion  that  we  must 
he  forever  content  to  remain  inferior  races  will  not 
abide.  Such  an  attitude  is  absolutely  inconsistent  with 
our  honor  as  a  nation  and  our  sovereign  rights  as  inde- 
pendent states.  We  therefore  appeal  to  the  white  races 
to  put  aside  their  race  prejudice  and  meet  us  on  equal 
terms  in  brotherly  co-operation." — Professor  R.  Nagai, 
Japan  Magazine,  May,  1914. 

"The  fundamental  question  in  the  California 
land  trouble  is  that  of  discrimination.  It  is  a  matter 
of  honor.  If  for  the  purpose  of  self-protection  the 
United  States  determine  that  no  alien  should  hold 
land,  that  would  be  all  well  and  good.  The  United 
States  would  have  a  perfect  right  to  do  so,  and  eveiy- 
one  would  respect  that  right.  But  when  we  alone 
are  discriminated  against,  we  feel  that  we  must 
protest." — Doctor  Juichi  Soyeda,  in  a  pamphlet  on 
the  California  Japanese  Question,  1913. 


28     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

Mr.  Tokutomi  in  an  article  in  the  Kokumin  Shim- 
hun,  of  December  26,  1914,  said  that  "the  'agree- 
ment' has  made  it  almost  as  difficult  to  get  to  America 
as  it  is  to  get  to  heaven.^' 

"If  we  let  the  California  anti-Japanese  movement 
stand  where  it  is  now,  it  simply  means  increasing 
injury  to  the  dignity  of  our  country.  ...  If  our 
government  could  not  see  the  anti-alien  land  law 
nullified  and  naturalization  rights  affirmed  by  the 
American  people,  if  there  were  any  signs  of  weak- 
ness in  diplomatic  negotiations  with  the  United 
States,  China  might  begin  to  mock  v^  and  the  Koreans 
might  become  disobedient  to  the  Japanese  administra- 
tion."— Professor  M.  Kobe,  New  York-Japan  Review, 
September,  1913,  p.  163. 

"We  are  a  peace-loving  nation.  Our  endurance 
has  stood  the  successive  tests  of  the  Manchurian 
railway  question,  the  school  affair,  the  immigration 
flurry,  the  California  land-law  dispute ;  it  will  stand 
more  because  we  are  bent  on  the  maintenance  of 
peace.  But  with  a  view  to  a  speedy  and  amicable 
settlement  of  the  outstanding  complication,  we 
claim  that  America  accede  to  one  of  the  two  alterna- 
tives— the  granting  of  the  right  of  naturalization  to 
the  Japanese,  or  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  to  guaran- 
tee their  rights  of  owning  land  or  of  leasing  farms. 
I  venture  to  say  this  is  no  extravagant  claim.  Jus- 
tice demands  that  America  shall  treat  the  Japanese 
on  equal  terms  with  European  immigrants,  since  she 
has  permitted  the  former  to  enter  and  live  on  her 
land.  If  it  is  a  question  of  granting  such  rights  to 
millions  of  Japanese,  it  may  be  too  serious  for 
America  to  consent;  but  it  is  a  matter  that  involves 


JAPAN  29 

only  90,000  residents.  Is  she  still  reluctant  to  com- 
ply with  our  claim?  If  she  rejects  it,  I  am  afraid 
that  the  day  will  come  when  our  friendship  toward 
her  shall  cease." — Professor  S.  Suyehiro,  "Japan's 
Message  to  America,"  p.  69. 


CHAPTER  III 
CHINA:  OUR  TREATIES  AND  OUR  TREATMENT 

The  decision  of  China  to  enter  completely  into 
the  life  of  the  world,  and  to  adopt  the  character- 
istic mechanical;  economic,  social,  and  political 
elements  of  Occidental  civilization  is  a  decision  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  the  entire  world,  and 
especially  to  America.  It  is  vital,  therefore,  that 
the  United  States  should  carefully  consider  the 
new  situation.  What  have  been  its  relations  with 
China  in  the  past?  Have  they  been  honorable 
and  helpful?  What  is  the  duty  of  America  at  this 
time  in  its  relations  with  China  and  its  treatment 
of  the  Chinese  in  America.  What  responsibilities 
have  we,  if  any,  for  helping  China?  And,  what  is 
even  more  pertinent,  what  should  we  do  to  correct 
the  errors  and  wrongs  of  our  past  relations  and  to 
put  and  keep  ourselves  right  in  our  future  dealings 
with  that  mighty  new  force  in  world  development 
and  world  politics  ? 

In  order  to  answer  these  questions  we  must  first 
review  the  history  of  our  past  relations  with  China 
and  our  treatment  of  Chinese  in  this  country. 

The  story  of  our  dealings  with  China  is,  as  a  whole, 

30 


CHINA  31 

one  of  which  we  need  not  be  ashamed.  We  have 
not  seized  her  territory,  bombarded  her  ports,  or 
pillaged  her  capitals  as  other  nations  have.  On 
the  contrary,  we  have  helped  preserve  her  from 
"partition"  at  a  grave  crisis  in  her  relations  with 
Western  lands.  We  have  stood  for  the  open  door 
and  a  square  deal.  Our  consular  courts  have  been 
models  of  probity  and  justice.  The  work  of  our 
missionaries  in  hospitals,  in  education,  and  in  fam- 
ine and  flood  relief  has  been  highly  appreciated.  In 
compensation  for  American  lives  and  property  de- 
stroyed by  Chinese  mobs  we  have  not  made  exces- 
sive demands  for  indemnities,  except  in  the  case  of 
the  Boxer  uprising.  At  that  time  we  seized  in 
Peking  and  still  hold  the  "compound"  on  which 
our  legation  buildings  stand,  and  we  demanded 
and  received  $24,000,000  to  be  paid  in  instalments 
with  interest.  Since  1907,  however,  we  have  been 
returning  the  excess  portion  and  by  1939  we  shall 
have  returned  to  China  about  $40,000,000. 

In  consequence  of  such  factors  the  Chinese  as  a 
nation  hold  to-day  a  highly  gratifying  attitude  of 
friendship  toward  us.  So  conspicuous  has  this 
friendship  and  preferential  treatment  become  since 
the  establishment  of  the  republic  that  other  nations 
have  begun  to  note  it.  In  the  reforms  taking  place 
in  China,  especially  in  her  educational  system,  in 
her  political  and  social  reorganization,  and  in  her 
moral   and   religious  awakening,   the  influence   of 


32     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

Americans  is  far  beyond  that  exercised  by  any  other 
people. 

When  we  turn,  however,  to  the  story  of  what 
many  Chinese  have  suffered  here,  we  are  filled  with 
shame.  The  story  would  be  incredible  were  it  not 
overwhelmingly  verified  by  ample  documentary 
evidence.  Treaties  have  pledged  rights,  immunities, 
and  protection.  They  have,  nevertheless,  been  dis- 
regarded and  even  knowingly  invaded;  and  this  not 
only  by  private  individuals,  but  by  legislators  and 
administrative  officials.  Scores  of  Chinese  have 
been  murdered,  hundreds  wounded,  and  thousands 
robbed  by  anti-Asiatic  mobs,  with  no  protection  for 
the  victims  or  punishment  for  the  culprits.  State 
legislatures,  and  even  Congress,  have  enacted  laws 
in  contravention  of  treaty  provisions.  Men  ap- 
pointed to  federal  executive  ofiices  have  at  times 
administered  those  laws  and  regulations  with  offen- 
sive methods. 

Few  Americans  know  what  has  taken  place.  The 
above  general  statements  sound  vague  and  incon- 
clusive.   Let  us  therefore  consider  definite  details. 

Previous  to  the  coming  of  considerable  Chinese 
immigration  to  this  country  the  relations  of  China 
and  the  United  States  were  well-nigh  ideal.  Our 
merchants  were  welcomed  in  China  and  did  an  hon- 
orable and  extensive  trade  to  the  advantage  of  both 
countries.  So  cordial  had  the  relations  become  that 
when  our  minister,  Anson  Burlingame,  negotiated 


CHINA  33 

the  new  treaty  of  July  28,  1868,  an  article  was  in- 
serted providing  for  free  immigration.  It  reads  as 
follows: 

"Article  V. — The  United  States  of  America  and 
the  Emperor  of  China  cordially  recognize  the  in- 
herent and  inalienable  right  of  man  to  change  his 
home  and  allegiance,  and  also  the  mutual  advantage 
of  the  free  migration  and  immigration  of  their 
citizens  and  subjects  respectively  from  the  one 
country  to  the  other  for  purposes  of  curiosity,  of 
trade,  or  as  permanent  residents.  The  high  con- 
tracting parties  therefore  join  in  reprobating  any 
other  than  an  entirely  voluntary  immigration  for 
these  purposes." 

Special  articles  of  the  treaty  also  provided  for  "most 
favored  nation"  privileges  of  travel,  of  education, 
and  of  teaching. 

Chinese  immigration  to  the  United  States  may  be 
said  to  have  begun  in  1851  with  the  arrival  that 
year  in  San  Francisco  of  2,716  persons.  By  1882, 
when  free  immigration  from  China  was  forbidden 
by  act  of  Congress,  some  300,000  Chinese  had  come 
to  the  United  States;  during  that  same  interval 
about  150,000  are  recorded  as  having  returned. 
Careful  estimates  indicated  that  in  1882  there  were 
about  132,300  Chinese  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

Anti-Chinese  agitation  and  discriminatory  legis- 
lation began  very  soon.  Chinese  were  regarded 
by  many  as  on  a  par  with  Indians  and  Negroes. 
"The  (California)  State  superintendent  of  pubHc  in- 


34     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

struction,  in  1859,  protested  against  the  attempt 
to  force  'Africans,  Chinese,  and  Niggers'  into 
white  schools."^  The  Cahfornia  Statute  of  1860  ex- 
cluded MongoHans,  Indians,  and  Negroes  from  the 
pubhc  schools. 

"The  result  of  the  exclusion  of  their  testimony 
from  the  courts  was  most  disastrous  for  the  Chi- 
nese. It  made  it  possible  for  unprincipled  whites  to 
commit  crimes  against  them  with  impunity  so  long 
as  there  were  no  white  witnesses.  Much  of  the 
discrimination  suffered  by  the  Chinese  was  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  administration  of  the  law  was  in 
the  hands  of  officials  whose  political  future  depended 
on  their  pleasing  the  miners  who  constituted,  at  that 
time,  the  chief  body  of  workingmen  in  the  State."  ^ 

With  the  advent  of  the  "sand-lot  orators"  in  the 
seventies  the  anti-Chinese  agitation  grew  apace. 
In  1876  the  California  State  Legislature,  with  an 
eye  to  the  national  election  of  that  year,  appointed 
a  committee  of  investigation  whose  report  of  300 
pages  became  the  basis  of  the  nation-wide  anti- 
Chinese  campaign.  Ten  thousand  copies  were 
distributed  to  governors,  editors,  and  legislators 
throughout  the  United  States. 

Theodore  Hittel  speaks  of  that  report  in  the 
following  terms : 

"As  was  expected  and  in  fact  perfectly  under- 
stood beforehand,  the  report  was  violently  anti- 

»  "Chinese  Immigration,"  by  M.  R.  Coolidge,  1909,  p.  78. 
« Ibid.,  p.  81. 


CHINA  35 

Chinese  in  character  and  suited  the  popular  prej- 
udice so  well  that  20,000  copies  were  ordered  printed. 
Matters  had  so  far  advanced  that  nobody,  par- 
ticularly nobody  that  held  or  ever  expected  to  hold 
office,  dared  say  a  word  in  favor  of  the  Chinese;  but 
on  the  contrary,  everybody,  the  Republicans  as  well 
as  the  Democrats,  seized  every  opportunity  to  make 
public  profession  on  the  anti-Chinese  side."  ^ 

"In  order  to  produce  an  anti-Chinese  report  the 
committee  ignored,  emasculated,  or  falsified  most  of 
the  competent  testimony,  preferring  in  matters  of 
religion  the  opinion  of  police  officers  to  those  of 
missionaries;  on  the  subject  of  manufacture,  the 
opinions  of  police  officers  to  those  of  a  large  manu- 
facturer; and  again  on  the  subject  of  coolie  slavery 
the  opinions  of  city  officials  and  policemen  to  those 
of  persons  who  had  lived  for  many  years  in  China."  ^ 

So  violent  was  the  anti-Chinese  sentiment  that 
when  F.  M.  Pixley,  of  San  Francisco,  presented  the 
case  before  the  Congressional  Committee  of  1876, 
he  used  these  words: 

"The  Chinese  are  inferior  to  any  race  God  ever 
made.  .  .  .  Their  people  have  got  the  perfection 
of  crimes  of  4,000  years.  ...  I  believe  the  Chinese 
have  no  souls  to  save,  and  if  they  have  they  are  not 
worth  saving."  ' 

The  federal  courts,  however,  would  not  recog- 
nize the  anti-Chinese  legislation  of  the  Pacific  coast 
States,  which  was  regarded  as  unconstitutional  and 
in   violation   of   treaty.    A   movement,   therefore, 

*  Ibid.,  p.  83.  *  Professor  Coolidge,  ibid.,  p.  95. 

» Ibid.,  p.  96. 


36     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

started  for  the  negotiation  of  a  new  treaty  and  the 
enactment  of  anti-Chinese  federal  legislation. 

In  1876  Congress  established  a  special  committee 
which  took  evidence  of  129  witnesses  in  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Sacramento.  Their  report,  however,  "  re- 
veals the  intentional  perversion  of  the  testimony  in 
order  to  produce  the  desired  anti-Chinese  campaign 
document."^ 

The  full  story  of  the  malicious  and  deceitful 
character  of  that  long-continued  campaign  should 
be  read  and  known  by  all  true  Americans  who  de- 
sire now  to  correct  the  errors  of  the  past  and  set 
right  our  relation  with  China. 

The  agitation  so  far  succeeded  that  in  1880  a 
supplemental  treaty  with  China  was  negotiated, 
permitting  the  United  States  to  suspend  the  immi- 
gration of  Chinese  laborers.  The  important  sec- 
tions of  that  new  treaty  are : 

Article  I  provides  that  "the  Government  of  the 
United  States  may  regulate,  limit  or  suspend  such 
coming  or  residence  of  Chinese  (laborers),  but  may 
not  absolutely  prohibit  it.  The  limitation  or  sus- 
pension shall  be  reasonable  and  shall  apply  only 
to  .  .  .  laborers." 

Article  II  provides  that:  "Chinese  laborers  who 
are  now  in  the  United  States  shall  be  allowed  to  go 
and  come  of  their  own  free  will  and  accord,  and 
shall  be  accorded  aU  the  rights,  privileges,  immuni- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  104. 


CHINA  37 

ties,  and  exemptions  which  are  accorded  to  citizens 
and  subjects  of  the  most  favored  nation." 

Article  III  provides  that  in  case  of  ill  treatment 
the  "Government  of  the  United  States  will  exert 
all  its  power  to  devise  measures  for  their  protection 
and  to  secure  to  them  the  same  rights,  privileges, 
immunities,  and  exemptions  as  may  be  enjoyed  by 
citizens  or  subjects  of  the  most  favored  nation,  and 
to  which  they  are  entitled  by  treaty." 

Article  IV  provides  that  legislative  measures  deal- 
ing with  Chinese  shall  be  "communicated  to  the 
Government  of  China,"  and  if  found  "to  work 
hardship  upon  the  subjects  of  China,  consultations 
shall  be  held  to  the  end  that  mutual  and  unqualified 
benefit  may  result." 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  complete  cessation  of 
Chinese  labor  immigration,  and  in  spite  of  the 
promises  of  our  government  to  provide  protection, 
"and  most  favored  nation  treatment,"  the  unjust 
treatment  of  Chinese  did  not  cease.  The  outrages 
committed  on  the  Chinese  during  the  eighties  were 
even  more  inexcusable  than  those  of  the  preceding 
decade. 

In  his  discussion  of  the  question  whether  the 
federal  government  should  protect  aHens  in  their 
treaty  rights,  Ex-President  William  H.  Taft  cites 
the  cases  of  50  Chinamen  who  suffered  death  at 
the  hands  of  American  mobs  in  our  Western  States, 
and  of  120  others,  many  of  whom  were  wounded 


38     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

and  robbed  of  all  their  property.  The  list  does  not 
profess  to  be  complete.  All  these  outrages  have 
occurred  since  1885. 

"In  an  official  note  of  February  15,  1886,  riots 
were  reported  at  Bloomfield,  Redding,  Boulder 
Creek,  Eureka,  and  other  towns  in  California,  in- 
volving murder,  arson,  and  robbery,  and  it  was 
added  that  thousands  of  Chinese  had  been  driven 
from  their  homes." 

None  of  the  criminals  were  punished  in  spite  of 
the  article  in  the  treaty  which  expressly  provides 
that  in  case  "Chinese  laborers  meet  ill  treatment 
at  the  hands  of  other  persons,  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  will  exert  all  its  power  to  devise 
measures  for  their  protection  and  secure  to  them 
the  same  rights,  privileges,  immunities,  and  exemp- 
tions as  may  be  enjoyed  by  citizens  or  subjects  of 
the  most  favored  nation  and  to  which  they  are  en- 
titled by  treaty."  Congress,  it  is  true,  has  voted 
indemnities  for  families  of  those  murdered,  but 
financial  remuneration  can  hardly  be  supposed  to 
take  the  place  of  justice  or  to  be  a  substitute  for  ob- 
servance of  treaty  pledges. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  Italians  and  other  aliens 
suffered  similarly  from  mob  violence  and  they  too 
were  not  protected,  nor  were  the  criminals  punished, 
and  that  therefore  China  cannot  complain  of  excep- 
tional treatment.    But  is  it  not  obvious  that  failure 


CHINA  39 

of  the  United  States  to  fulfil  its  treaty  pledges  to 
Italy  and  other  countries  in  no  wise  justifies  similar 
failure  toward  China?  Does  it  not  rather  show  that 
the  United  States  is  culpable  for  failure  to  make 
adequate  provision  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
its  treaty  pledges?  This  moral  and  legal  defect 
has  become  most  conspicuous  in  our  relations  with 
China;  but  its  culpability  is  in  no  wise  lessened — 
rather  it  is  aggravated — as  soon  as  it  becomes  clear 
that  the  defect  is  entirely  due  to  the  failure  of  Con- 
gress to  take  the  needed  action.  For  provision  for 
such  action  is  made  by  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

The  failure  of  Congress  seems  inexcusable,  for  it 
found  time  to  enact  not  only  the  first  general  exclu- 
sion law  in  harmony  with  the  treaty  with  China, 
but  also  several  supplementary  laws,  of  which  im- 
portant clauses  are  admittedly  in  contravention  to 
the  treaty. 

The  Scott  law  of  1888  and  the  Geary  law  of  1892 
are  still  in  force,  though  the  essential  injustice  of 
some  of  their  provisions  and  their  disregard  of 
Chinese  treaty  rights  are  now  recognized.  They 
are  producing  constant  anti-American  feeling  among 
Chinese  legitimately  in  America.  Even  in  cosmo- 
politan New  York  and  in  Boston,  Chinese  some- 
times suffer  from  the  acts  of  federal  officers  who 
supervise  Chinese  residents  in  the  United  States, 
acts,  moreover,  which  are  required  by  the   laws 


40     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

and  administrative  regulations  dealing  with  the  Chi- 
nese. 

With  regard  to  the  Scott  law,  Senator  Sherman 
said  that  it  was  "one  of  the  most  vicious  laws  that 
have  passed  in  my  time  in  Congress."  It  was 
passed  as  a  "mere  political  race  between  the  two 
houses  ...  in  the  face  of  a  Presidential  election." 
Senator  Dawes  sarcastically  referred  to  keeping  the 
treaties  as  long  as  we  had  a  mind  to.  The  law  was 
"a  rank  unblushing  repudiation  of  every  treaty  obli- 
gation .  .  .  unwarranted  by  any  existing  danger — a 
violation  such  as  the  United  States  would  not  dare 
to  commit  toward  any  warlike  nation  of  Europe."  ^ 

With  regard  to  the  Geary  law,  Professor  Coolidge 
makes  the  following  statement: 

"  Meanwhile  the  Chinese  minister  at  Washington, 
the  consul-general  at  San  Francisco,  and  the  Yamen 
.  at  Peking  were  also  protesting  against  the  act.  The 
Chinese  minister  had  steadily  protested  ever  since 
the  Scott  Act  against  the  plain  violation  of  treaty; 
just  preceding  the  Geary  Act,  he  wrote  six  letters  to 
Mr.  Blaine  only  two  of  which  were  so  much  as 
acknowledged.  He  now  declared  that  the  Geary 
Act  was  worse  than  the  Scott  Act,  for  it  not  only 
violated  every  single  article  of  the  treaty  of  1880, 
but  also  denied  bail,  required  white  witnesses, 
allowed  arrest  without  warrant  and  put  the  burden 
of  proof  on  the  Chinese.  He  quoted  our  own  state- 
ment on  the  harsh  and  hasty  character  of  the  Act,  not 
required  by  any  existing  emergency,  whose  political 

» Ibid.,  chap.  XII. 


CHINA  41 

motive  was  well  understood  both  in  China  and  the 
United  States.  In  his  final  protest  he  said:  'The 
statute  of  1892  is  a  violation  of  every  principle  of 
justice,  equity,  reason,  and  fair-dealing  between 
two  friendly  powers. ' "  ^ 

Not  unnaturally,  both  the  Chinese,  and  Ameri- 
cans interested  in  maintaining  right  relations  with 
China,  looked  to  the  Supreme  Court  to  declare  un- 
constitutional such  laws  as  contravene  treaties — for 
are  not  treaties  "the  supreme  law  of  the  land"? 
The  Chinese  accordingly  brought  forward  a  test 
case  dealing  with  certain  provisions  of  the  Scott  Act 
(1888). 

Judge  Field,  who  pronounced  the  judgment  of 
the  court,  said : 

"It  must  be  conceded  that  the  Act  of  1888  is  in 
contravention  of  the  treaty  of  1868,  and  of  the  sup- 
plemental treaty  of  1880,  but  it  is  not  on  that  ac- 
count invalid.  ...  It  (a  treaty)  can  be  deemed 
.  .  .  only  the  equivalent  of  a  legislative  act,  to  be 
repealed  or  modified  at  the  pleasure  of  Congress. 
...  It  is  the  last  expression  of  sovereign  will  and 
must  control."  "The  question  whether  our  govern- 
ment was  justified  in  disregarding  its  engagements 
with  another  nation  is  not  one  for  the  determination 
of  the  courts.  .  .  .  This  court  is  not  a  censor  of 
the  morals  of  the  other  departments  of  the  govern- 
ment." 

This  made  it  clear  that  a  treaty  is  not  the  "su- 
preme law  of  the  land"  except  as  Congress  makes  it 

>  Ibid.,  p.  221. 


42     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

so.  Congress  can,  without  violation  of  the  Con- 
stitution, repeal  or  amend  any  part  of  a  treaty  even 
without  securing  the  consent  of  the  other  party 
to  the  treaty,  and  even  without  conference.  Trear 
ties  are  declared  by  this  decision  to  have  no  binding 
power  upon  Congress.  The  Supreme  Court  de- 
clined to  take  note  of  the  moral  obligations  of  treaty 
pledges.  Disappointing  though  it  may  be,  this  is 
unquestionably  correct  law.  Aliens  deprived  by 
Congress  of  rights  promised  by  treaties  may  not 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  enforcement  of 
those  rights.  The*  administration  can  indeed  use 
the  entire  military  force  of  the  country  to  make  a 
foreign  nation  observe  its  treaty  obligations  to  us, 
but  according  to  the  interpretation  of  our  Consti- 
tution, neither  the  administration  nor  the  Supreme 
Court  can  hold  Congress  to  the  observance  of  our 
treaty  pledges.  The  President  has,  of  course,  the 
power  to  veto  an  Act  of  Congress,  but  experienca 
shows  that  even  Presidents  do  not  always  regard 
treaties  as  binding,  for  the  treaty-ignoring  laws  have 
been  signed  by  the  Presidents  then  in  office.  This 
makes  it  clear  that  the  moral  obligations  of  our 
nation  must  be  carefully  safeguarded  by  the  peo- 
ple themselves.  We  must  hold  our  representatives 
in  Congress  to  their  moral  responsibilities  in  inter- 
national as  in  all  other  relations.  This  is  a  matter 
of  moral  energy — not  of  law. 
In  1904  Congress  again  contravened  the  treaty 


CHINA  43 

with  China.  The  treaty  (1880)  states  that  "The 
United  States  may  regulate,  limit,  or  suspend  such 
coming  or  residence  (of  Chinese  labor  immigration) 
but  may  not  absolutely  prohibit  it.  The  limitation 
or  suspension  shall  be  reasonable." 

In  harmony  with  these  explicit  provisions,  Con- 
gress provided  in  1882,  in  1892,  and  again  in  1902, 
for  the  temporary  suspension  of  Chinese  labor  immi- 
gration for  periods  of  ten  years  each.  By  1894,  how- 
ever, so  many  of  the  laws  and  department  regula- 
tions dealing  with  the  Chinese  had  become  so  mani- 
festly violations  of  the  treaty  that  a  new  one  was 
prepared  in  Washington  to  meet  the  difficulty,  em- 
bodying the  principal  features  of  the  anti-Chinese 
legislation.  It  proved,  however,  so  obnoxious  to 
the  Chinese  Government  that  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity, namely  at  the  expiration  (1904)  of  the  ten- 
year  period  for  which  the  treaty  itself  provided, 
China  denounced  the  treaty.  The  relations  of  the 
two  countries,  therefore,  feU  back  onto  the  treaty 
of  1880.  In  spite,  however,  of  its  provisions  quoted 
above.  Congress  then  enacted  that  "all  laws  regulat- 
ing, suspending  or  prohibiting  the  coming  of  Chinese 
persons — are  hereby  reenacted,  extended,  and  con- 
tinued without  modification,  limitation,  or  condi- 
tion," thus  again  plainly  contravening  the  treaty. 

The  history  of  anti-Chinese  legislation,  as  it  has 
been  carried  through  Congress  under  the  pressure  of 
legislators  from  the  Pacific  coast  States,  from  the 


44     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

eighth  decade  of  the  last  century  even  down  to  the 
present,  and  the  way  in  which  the  Asiatic  problem 
has  been  made  the  "football  of  party  politics"  are 
ill  omens  for  the  future  relations  of  America  with  the 
Orient.  Eight  times  in  fourteen  years  anti-Chinese 
agitation  on  the  Pacific  coast  secured  increasingly 
drastic  and  obnoxious  legislation  in  Congress. 
"All  but  one  of  these  measures  was  passed  on  the 
eve  of  an  election  under  political  pressure  for  avowed 
political  purposes."  That  legislation  contravened 
plain  provisions  of  the  treaties,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
spirit,  and  disregarded  courteous  protests  of  Chinese 
ministers  and  ambassadors.  China  sent  in  a  "  stream 
of  dignified  and  ineffectual  protests."  The  Chinese 
minister  even  charged  us  with  duplicity  in  nego- 
tiating the  treaty  of  1880.  "Mr.  Bayard  assured 
him  that  the  President  would  veto  any  legislation 
which  might  be  passed  in  violation  of  the  treaty." 

If  the  faithful  observance  of  treaties  between  the 
nations  of  Europe  constitutes  the  very  foundation 
of  civilization,  is  not  the  faithful  observance  of 
treaties  with  Asiatics  the  foundation  of  right  rela- 
tions with  them?  In  other  words,  do  not  treaties 
ratified  by  Congress  have  moral  aspects  which 
should  place  them  on  a  higher  level  of  authority 
than  the  ordinary  acts  of  Congress?  Disregard  by 
Congress  of  this  fundamental  principle  for  the  main- 
tenance of  right  international  relations  is  fraught 
with  ominous  consequences.    Congress,  of  course, 


CHINA  45 

has  the  right  to  abrogate  a  treaty,  but  there  is  a 
right  way  and  also  a  wrong  way  to  do  it.  Is  it  any 
more  right  for  a  nation  to  abrogate  an  inconvenient 
treaty  by  simply  passing  laws  in  contravention  to 
certain  of  its  pledges,  than  it  is  for  an  individual  who 
has  made  a  promise  to  another  individual  giving 
quid  'pro  quo  suddenly  and  without  conference  to 
ignore  that  promise?  Is  it  conceivable  that  Con- 
gress would  have  treated  China  as  it  has,  had  she 
been  equipped,  as  Japan  is  to-day,  with  the  instru- 
ments of  Occidental  ci\dlization  ? 

Minister  Chang  Yeu  Hoon  writing  to  Secretary 
Bayard  remarked  with  courteous  but  biting  sar- 
casm: "I  was  not  prepared  to  learn  that  there  was 
a  way  recognized  in  the  law  and  practice  of  this 
country  whereby  your  country  could  release  itself 
from  treaty  obligations  without  consultation  or  the 
consent  of  the  other  party."  ^ 

Now  when  China  becomes  equipped  with  a  daily 
press  and  adequate  world  news,  when  her  national 
organization  becomes  better  unified,  more  efficient, 
and  better  equipped,  when  her  self-consciousness  is 
more  perfectly  developed,  and  when  she  learns  that 
Chinese  entering  America  have  often  suffered  ig- 
nominious treatment,  that  Chinese  lawfully  here  are 
deprived  of  rights  guaranteed  by  long-standing  trea- 
ties, and  that  privileges  granted  as  a  matter  of  course 
to  individuals  of  other  nations  are  refused  to  Chi- 

1  lUd.,  p.  183. 


46     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

nese  on  exclusively  racial  grounds,  is  it  not  as  cer- 
tain as  the  sunrise  that  Chinese  friendship  for  Amer- 
ica will  wane  and  serious  possibilities  develop  ? 

That  Chinese,  even  those  la.wfuUy  in  the  United 
States,  are  still  liable  to  arrest  and  deportation  un- 
der circumstances  that  deny  them  even  the  most 
rudimentary  justice,  is  made  evident  by  the  case  of 
Chin  Loy  You  (223  Fed.  833).  Judge  Morton,  of 
Boston,  pronounced  (February  16, 1915)  the  follow- 
ing opinion  in  regard  to  the  methods  of  our  Chinese 
inspection  and  deportation  officials. 

"It  is  apparent  that  many  of  what  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  regard  as  the  essential  safeguards  of  in- 
dividual liberty  were  ignored.  The  prisoner  was 
not  allowed  to  see  any  of  the  witnesses  against  him 
while  they  were  testifying,  nor  to  cross-examine 
them,  and  he  had  no  power  to  make  them  testify 
afterwards.  All  the  oral  testimony  against  the 
prisoner  (except  his  own)  was  taken  behind  his  back, 
and  if  not  secretly,  at  least  without  notice  to  him  or 
to  his  counsel,  although  the  latter  was  well  known 
to  the  officers  and  had  reasonably  demanded  the 
right  to  be  present  at  the  taking  of  the  testimony 
and  to  cross-examine  the  witnesses.  The  petitioner 
was  denied  the  assistance  of  counsel  both  before 
and  while  giving  his  testimony  at  the  first  so-called 
*  hearing/  and  also  at  the  second  'hearing.'  State- 
ments of  fact  not  under  oath,  made  by  persons  not 
connected  with  the  prisoner  or  with  the  Immigra- 
tion Department,  and  never  present  at  any  hearing, 
were  used  against  him.  The  proceedings  plainly 
were  not  of  a  judicial  character.     They  cannot  be 


CHINA  47 

supported,  it  seems  to  me,  as  legitimate  administra- 
tive proceedings,  because  the  officers  did  not  en- 
deavor themselves  to  ascertain  the  truth  about  the 
matter. 

"'The  proceedings'  are  to  be  viewed  as  a  whole, 
and  so  viewed,  they  present  to  my  mind,  a  plain 
violation  of  the  fundamentals  of  fair  play  by  the 
immigration  inspectors.  .  .  .  The  acting  secretary, 
instead  of  disaffirming  the  illegal  conduct  of  his 
subordinates,  approved  it  and  based  his  decision 
on  it.  .  .  .  The  next  case  of  this  kind  may  be  one 
of  an  American  citizen  endeavoring  to  protect  him- 
seK  against  exile  by  administrative  order  made  in 
this  way." 

Among  the  most  important  constitutional  safe- 
guards guaranteeing  justice  to  the  individual  is  the 
famous  Fourteenth  Amendment.  It  provides  that 
"no  State  shall  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or 
property  without  due  process  of  law,  nor  deny  to 
any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protec- 
tion of  the  laws."  On  November  1,  1915,  Justice 
Hughes,  in  a  judgment  dealing  with  the  law  passed 
by  the  State  of  Arizona  restricting  the  privileges  of 
aliens  in  regard  to  employment  in  order  to  give 
superior  privileges  to  citizens,  pronounced  the  law 
unconstitutional.  He  said  that  "equal  protection 
of  the  laws  is  a  pledge  of  the  protection  of  equal  laws.'' 
(United  States  Reports  239,  p.  33  X.)  Has  this 
important  principle  been  observed  in  laws  dealing 
with  Asiatics  ?  Should  not  steps  be  taken  to  remove 
from  all  State  legislation  those  laws  that  discrim- 


48     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

inate  against  aliens  and  especially  that  discriminate 
between  aliens? 

Such  in  bare  outline  has  been  the  situation  in  the 
relations  of  the  United  States  with  China.  A  New 
China,  however,  has  been  born.  Though  she  has 
not  yet  approached  us  with  any  definite  requests 
for  changes  in  our  laws  and  our  treatment,  is  it  not 
clear  that  she  would  be  quite  justified  in  doing  so? 

But  whether  she  does  or  not,  here  is  the  actual 
appeal  of  the  facts,  pathetic,  urgent,  humiliating, 
ominous. 

How  will  America  meet  this  appeal?  Shall  we 
go  on  our  way  unheeding?  Shall  we  continue  to 
disregard  our  treaties  and  humiliate  mighty  neigh- 
bors across  the  Pacific?  That  were  an  ominous 
course. 

For  the  next  step  in  this  discussion  we  need  to 
consider  the  history  of  federal  legislation  dealing 
with  immigration  and  naturalization.  These  two 
topics  will  occupy  us  in  the  two  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER  IV 

AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH   OF   LEGISLATION 
DEALING  WITH  IMMIGRATION 

Immigration  and  naturalization  are  closely  inter- 
dependent. Without  the  former  there  would  be  no 
possibility  of  the  latter. 

From  the  beginning  of  our  history  until  1875  the 
immigration  of  aliens  was  encouraged.  No  limita- 
tions of  any  kind  were  placed  upon  it  for  nearly  a 
century.  When  limitations  were  imposed  they  were 
imposed  on  grounds  of  moral  and  physical  deficien- 
cies, and  for  economic  reasons. 

The  Act  of  March  3,  1875,  forbade  the  importa- 
tion of  women  for  immoral  purposes,  the  supply- 
ing of  coolie  labor,  and  the  entrance  of  alien  per- 
sons under  sentence  for  felonious  crimes  other  than 
political. 

The  Act  of  August  2,  1882,  forbade  the  admission 
of  convicts,  lunatics,  idiots,  or  persons  unable  to 
take  care  of  themselves. 

The  Act  of  Febmary  26,  1885  (amended  February 
23,  1887),  prohibited  the  introducton  of  contract 
labor. 

The  Act  of  March  3,  1891,  added  the  follow- 
ing classes  to  those  forbidden  admission:  Paupers, 

49 


50     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

persons  suffering  from  a  loathsome  or  dangerous 
contagious  disease,  persons  who  had  been  convicted 
of  a  felony  or  other  infamous  crime  or  misdemeanor 
involving  moral  turpitude,  polygamists  and  assisted 
immigrants. 

The  Act  of  March  3, 1903,  also  added  other  classes 
to  the  prohibited  list,  such  as  epileptics,  persons 
who  had  been  insane  within  five  years,  or  who  had 
had  two  or  more  attacks,  professional  beggars, 
anarchists,  prostitutes,  procurers,  and  those  previ- 
ously deported. 

The  Act  of  February  5,  1917,  which  is  the  most 
comprehensive  law  that  has  ever  been  passed,  re- 
aflirmed  all  the  above  provisions  for  exclusion  and 
added  many  others,  such  as  consumptives,  defectives 
both  mental  and  physical  who  are  thereby  rendered 
unfit  to  earn  a  living,  persons  from  certain  sections 
of  Asia  specified  by  latitude  and  longitude,  and 
aliens  over  sixteen  years  of  age  who  cannot  read 
some  language. 

No  people  or  race  has  even  been  excluded  by 
name  except  the  Chinese. 

The  Chinese  Exclusion  Act  of  May  6,  1882,  was 
limited  in  its  operation  to  ten  years,  and  in  its  scope 
to  laborers.  It  was,  however,  re-enacted  in  1892, 
and  again  in  1902,  for  periods  of  ten  years  each.  In 
1904,  as  we  have  already  stated  in  Chapter  III,  when 
the  Chinese  Government  denounced  the  treaty  of 
1894  which  then  became  terminable,  Congress  voted 


IMMIGRATION  51 

that  "all  laws  regulating,  suspending,  or  prohibiting 
the  coming  of  Chinese  persons  .  .  .  are  hereby  re- 
enacted,  extended,  and  continued  without  modifica- 
tion or  condition." 

The  Immigration  Act  of  February  5,  1917,  in 
addition  to  many  specifications  as  to  physical, 
psychological,  and  moral  defectives  who  are  to  be 
excluded,  contains,  as  has  just  been  stated,  a  com- 
prehensive provision  for  general  restriction,  that, 
namely,  which  describes  by  latitude  and  longitude 
certain  geographical  regions  of  Asia  and  adjacent 
islands,  natives  of  which  should  not  be  admitted. 
The  geographical  area  referred  to  does  not  include 
Japan  nor  east  China,  but  does  include  the  majority 
of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  all  India,  and  the  major 
part  of  the  continent  of  Central  Asia.  This  phrase- 
ology of  latitude  and  longitude  was  hit  upon  as  a 
substitute  for  the  proposal  to  exclude  "Hindus  and 
persons  who  cannot  become  eligible  under  existing 
law  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  by 
naturalization,  unless  otherwise  provided  for  by 
existing  agreements  as  to  passports,  or  by  existing 
treaties,  conventions,  or  agreements  that  may  here- 
after be  entered  into." 

To  this  phraseology  the  Japanese  Government  had 
objected  since  it  was  believed  to  be  aimed  especially 
at  the  Japanese  and  was  suspected  of  being  a  pre- 
lude for  annulling  the  "gentlemen's  agreement." 

The  exclusion  of  aliens  coming  from  the  specified 


52     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

region  is,  however,  not  absolute.  Those  excepted 
are  government  officers,  ministers,  or  rehgious 
teachers,  missionaries,  authors,  artists,  merchants, 
and  travellers  for  curiosity,  their  legal  wives  and 
their  children  under  sixteen.  Such  persons,  however, 
when  admitted  to  the  United  States,  must  main- 
tain their  status  and  occupation  at  the  risk  of  de- 
portation. 

The  manifest  purpose  of  the  numerous  restriction 
provisions  of  the  Act  under  consideration  is  the  ex- 
clusion of  those  persons  who  are  physically  or  morally 
mifit  for  life  among  us,  and  the  protection  of  our  in- 
dustrial and  manual  laborers  from  a  possible  vast 
immigration  of  ignorant  and  illiterate  laborers  from 
lands  whose  standards  of  life  and  economic  condi- 
tions might  easily  cause  our  people  serious  difficulties. 

Congress  has  thus  passed  six  laws  restricting  im- 
migration on  moral,  physical,  and  economic  grounds, 
dealing  in  every  case  with  individual  characteristics, 
and  nine  laws  dealing  with  Chinese.  But  in  none 
of  them  is  there  reference  to  any  race  or  people 
except  to  Chinese.  The  law  of  1917  is  the  first  one 
to  apply  a  general  principle  of  exclusion  to  any 
other  peoples  than  to  Chinese.  It  does  not,  however, 
as  we  have  seen,  specify  races  but  regions,  and  it 
applies  the  restriction  only  to  laboring  classes. 

The  restriction  of  Japanese  labor  immigration 
which  has  been  rigidly  maintained  since  1908  was 
undertaken  by  the  Japanese  Government  in  order 


IMMIGRATION  53 

to  render  unnecessary  federal  legislation  restricting 
Japanese,  which  legislation  no  doubt  would  have 
been  passed  had  the  Japanese  Government  not 
taken  its  action. 

Such  are  the  principal  points  in  the  history  of  our 
immigration  legislation.  We  must  now  study  the 
history  of  our  legislation  dealing  with  naturaUzation. 


CHAPTER  V 

AN    HISTORICAL    SKETCH   OF    LEGISLATION 
DEALING    WITH   NATURALIZATION 

America  aims  to  be  a  thoroughgoing  democracy. 
This  is  its  ideaL  The  progressive  achievement  of 
this  ideal  is  shown  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States;  by  legislation  regarding  immigration  and 
naturalization;  by  the  Civil  War;  and  by  the 
amendments  to  the  Constitution,  and  to  the  laws 
of  naturalization  immediately  following  that  war. 
America  does  not  wish  any  section  of  its  people  to 
be  a  subject  class  deprived  of  political  rights.  Every 
man  permanently  residing  here  should,  according  to 
our  ideal,  be  a  citizen,  sharing  in  the  responsibilities 
and  duties  no  less  than  in  the  privileges  of  citizen- 
ship. The  idea  of  a  political  aristocracy  lording  it 
over  an  ignorant  and  politically  helpless  mass  of 
inferiors  is  repugnant  to  us.  All  government,  we 
hold,  derives  its  right  to  be  and  to  act  from  the  ex- 
pressed will  of  the  people  and  of  all  the  people. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  our  national  history 
the  democratic  ideal  was  in  control.  Provision  was 
promptly  made  whereby  aliens  who  came  to  us  for 
permanent  residence  might  in  due  time  enter  into 
the  fellowship  of  freemen  guiding  their  own  political 
destinies. 


NATURALIZATION  55 

The  history  of  our  laws  dealing  with  naturaliza- 
tion throws  important  light  upon  these  matters  and 
helps  us  to  see  what  should  be  our  treatment  of 
Asiatics  permanently  residing  in  our  land. 

The  Constitution  (Art.  I,  Sec.  8)  provides  that 
"Congress  shall  have  power  ...  to  establish  an 
Uniform  rule  of  naturalization,"  and  also  "to  make 
all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers." 

In  harmony  with  this  provision,  the  first  law  of 
naturalization  was  passed  March  26,  1790.  It  pro- 
vided that  "Any  alien  being  a  free  white  person 
who  shall  have  resided  within  the  limits  and  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  for  the  term  of 
two  years,  may  be  admitted  to  become  a  citizen 
thereof."  Between  1790  and  1854  Congress  passed 
fifteen  laws  dealing  with  naturalization,  the  points  at 
issue  being  exclusively  the  length  of  residence  and 
other  matters  as  to  conditions  for  acquiring  citizen- 
ship. In  each  case  the  phrase  "free  white  person" 
was  retained  without  discussion.  The  period  of 
residence  required  as  a  qualification  for  the  ac- 
quisition of  citizenship  varied  from  two  to  fourteen 
years. 

The  reason  for  the  adoption  of  the  phrase  "free 
white  person"  was  manifestly  the  comaction  that 
Indians  and  slaves,  since  they  did  not  understand 
cm"  life  and  political  system,  were  not  freemen  and, 
therefore,  were  not  fitted  to  be  members  of  the  body 


56     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

politic,  nor  to  exercise  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  citizenship. 

The  only  reference,  however,  to  a  discussion  throw- 
ing light  upon  this  point  that  has  been  found  occurs 
in  F.  G.  Franklin's  "Legislative  History  of  Natural- 
ization." In  a  heated  debate  (1795)  to  amend  the 
law  by  lengthening  the  period  of  residence,  Mr. 
Dexter  (Massachusetts)  suggested  that  aliens  apply- 
ing for  citizenship  who  hold  slaves  shall  j&rst  "re- 
nounce aU  right  to  hold  such  persons  in  slavery," 
on  the  ground  that  slaveholders  were  not  fit  per- 
sons to  exercise  the  privileges  of  suffrage.  This 
proposed  amendment,  however,  was  dropped  be- 
cause of  its  reflection  upon  slaveholders  who  were 
already  citizens. 

This  makes  it  clear  that  the  conscious  purpose  of 
the  phrase  "free  white  person"  in  the  natural- 
ization laws  was  to  exclude  slaves  from  citizen- 
ship. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  the  naturalization 
law  was  amended  to  bring  it  into  harmony  with  the 
principles  established  by  that  war.  By  the  Act  of 
July  14,  1870,  Section  7,  Congress  provided  that 
"The  naturalization  laws  are  hereby  extended  to 
aliens  of  African  nativity  and  to  persons  of  African 
descent."  Attention  should  be  called  especially  to 
the  word  '' extended. '^  Does  not  this  word  imply 
the  removal  of  all  race  discrimination  from  our 
naturalization  laws?   The  problem  of  Asiatic  citizen- 


NATURALIZATION  57 

ship  had  not  at  that  time  been  raised.  That  this 
was  the  intention  of  the  law  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  until  recent  times  our  federal  and  State 
governments  used  "white"  as  a  catch-all  term  to 
include  all  who  were  not  otherwise  classified.  This 
is  seen  to  be  the  case  both  from  the  census  reports 
and  also  from  many  legal  documents  and  court  de- 
cisions. 

Judge  Lowell  discussed  (December  24,  1909)  the 
meaning  of  "white  persons"  exhaustively  in  the 
case  In  re  Halladjian  (174  Fed.  834,  841-844). 

"From  all  these  illustrations,  w^hich  have  been 
taken  almost  at  random,  it  appears  that  the  word 
'white'  has  been  used  in  colonial  practice,  in  the 
federal  statutes,  and  in  the  publications  of  the 
government  to  designate  persons  not  otherwise 
classified."  "Negroes  have  never  been  reckoned 
white;  Indians  seldom.  At  one  time  Chinese  and 
Japanese  were  deemed  to  be  white,  but  are  not 
usually  reckoned  so  to-day."  "After  the  majority 
of  Americans  had  come  to  believe  that  great  differ- 
ences separated  the  Chinese  and  later  the  Japa- 
nese from  other  immigrants,  these  persons  were 
no  longer  classified  as  white;  but  while  the  scope 
of  its  inclusion  has  thus  been  somewhat  reduced, 
'white'  is  still  the  catch-all  word  which  includes 
all  persons  not  otherwise  classified." 

In  1873  the  General  Statutes  of  the  United 
States  underwent  a  thorough  revision,  the  Act 
of  approval  being  dated  June  22,  1874.  Title 
(Chapter)  XXX  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  dealing 


58     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

with  naturalization,  reaffirmed  the  Act  of  July  14, 
1870;  in  the  following  words: 

"Sec.  2169.  The  provisions  of  this  Title  shall 
apply  to  aliens  of  African  nativity  and  to  persons  of 
African  descent." 

It  was  manifestly  the  intent  of  Congress  to  use 
the  terms  "aliens  of  African  nativity"  and  "per- 
sons of  African  descent"  in  an  enlarging  and  not  in 
a  restrictive  sense.  When,  however,  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  "Revised  Statutes"  replaced  all 
earlier  legislation  and  were  the  sole  authority  for 
legal  practice,  it  was  at  once  apparent  that  no  pro- 
vision had  been  made  for  the  naturalization  of  any 
white  persons.  Those  who  were  being  naturalized 
were  receiving  citizenship  without  authority  of  law ! 
An  amending  Act  was  accordingly  passed  (February 
18,  1875)  which  read: 

"The  provisions  of  this  Title  shall  apply  to  aliens 
being  free  white  persons  and  to  aliens  of  African 
nativity  and  to  persons  of  African  descent."  (U.  S. 
Revised  Statutes,  Title  XXX,  Section  2169.)  Un- 
der these  laws,  therefore,  of  1870,  1874,  and  1875,  it 
is  clear  that  rights  of  naturalization  were  given  to 
every  alien  otherwise  qualified  regardless  of  race. 
For,  as  we  have  seen,  they  specify  or  imply  only 
two  classes  of  aliens  who  are  to  be  naturalized, 
"Whites"  and  "Africans."  And  since  "white" 
is  a  "catch-all  word  to  include  all  who  are  not 


NATURALIZATION  59 

otherwise  classified,"  no  room  is  left  for  race  dis- 
crimination. 

It  may  be  well  at  this  point  to  instance  a  few 
cases  of  Chinese  naturalization.  The  first  applica- 
tion for  citizenship  by  a  Chinese  seems  to  have 
been  in  1854.  A  Chinese  was  naturalized  in  New 
York  in  1873.  Thirteen  applied  for  citizenship  in 
California  in  1876.  (C/.  Brook's  Brief.)  Accord- 
ing to  the  census  of  1910  (vol.  I,  p.  1070)  there 
were  at  that  date  1,368  naturalized  Chinese  and 
483  others  who  had  received  first  papers. 

With  the  development  of  the  agitation  against 
Chinese  immigration  there  went  a  demand  that  even 
those  Chinese  who  might  otherwise  qualify  should 
not  be  given  citizenship  privileges.  Congress  ac- 
ceded to  this  view,  and  in  the  law  suspending  Chi- 
nese labor  immigration  for  ten  years  it  provided 
(May  6,  1882): 

"  Sec.  14.  That  hereafter  no  State  Court  or  Court 
of  the  United  States  shall  admit  Chinese  to  citizen- 
ship ;  and  all  laws  in  conflict  with  this  act  are  here- 
by repealed." 

This  law  was  later  (1894)  confirmed  by  a  treaty 
provision,  already  cited  in  Chapter  III. 

This  makes  it  clear  that  until  1882  the  Act  of 
1875  was  regarded  by  Congress  as  all-inclusive  of 
races  and  that  a  special  Act  was  needed  to  exclude 
Chinese  from  naturalization. 


60     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

No  important  modifications  were  made  in  the 
laws  dealing  with  naturahzation  until  1906.  At 
that  time  the  Acts  of  Congress  dealing  with  details 
of  immigration  and  naturalization  had  become  so 
many  and  so  confusing,  and  the  influx  of  aliens  had 
become  so  enormous  that  Congress  set  up  an  en- 
tirely new  and  complete  set  of  laws  for  handling 
both  immigration  and  naturalization,  establishing 
separate  bureaus  of  immigration  and  naturalization. 

This  Act  of  June  26,  1906,  is  entitled 

"  An  Act  to  establish  a  Bureau  of  Immigration  and 
Naturalization,  and  to  provide  for  a  uniform  rule  for 
the  naturalization  of  aliens." 

The  law  itself  is  very  complete,  expressed  in 
about  10,000  words,  and  describes  not  only  the  man- 
ner of  admission  to  citizenship,  giving  the  various 
blank  forms  to  be  used,  but  stating  with  great  pre- 
cision the  qualifications  essential  for  naturalization. 

After  specifying  the  courts  having  jurisdiction, 
Section  4  provides  that  "an  alien  may  be  admitted 
to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  in  the 
following  manner  and  not  otherwise,"  and  then, 
strange  to  say,  not  only  prescribes  the  manner  but 
also  the  qualifications,  mental,  moral;  and  others, 
which  the  candidate  must  possess. 

The  candidate,  being  not  less  than  eighteen  years 
of  age,  must  declare  his  intention  at  least  two  years 
prior  to  admission. 


NATURALIZATION  61 

A  petition  in  writing  must  be  filed,  signed,  and 
verified,  stating  full  name,  residence,  occupation, 
date,  and  place  of  birth,  place  from  which  he  emi- 
grated, date  and  place  of  arrival  in  United  States, 
name  of  the  vessel,  time  and  court  where  he  de- 
clared his  intention,  name  of  wife,  and  country  of 
her  nativity,  place  of  residence;  name,  place, 
birth,  and  residence  of  children.  He  must  set  forth 
that  he  is  not  a  disbeliever  in,  or  opposed  to,  organ- 
ized government,  or  a  member  of,  or  affiliated  with, 
any  organization  teaching  disbelief  in,  or  opposed  to, 
organized  government,  or  a  polygamist  or  believer  in 
polygamy,  and  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen 
and  to  renounce  allegiance  to  any  foreign  prince, 
potentate,  state,  or  sovereignty  of  which  he  may  be 
a  subject, 

"and  every  fact  material  to  his  naturalization  and 
required  to  be  proved  upon  the  final  hearing  of  his 
application." 

Provision  is  also  made  for  affidavits  of  two  credible 
witnesses  who  have  personal  knowledge  of  petitioner. 
It  must  appear  to  the  court  that  the  alien  has 
resided  continuously  in  the  United  States  for  five 
years,  and  in  the  State  territory  concerned  for  one 
year,  and  has  behaved  as  a  man  of  good  moral  char- 
acter, attached  to  the  principles  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  well  disposed  to  the  good  order  and  happi- 
ness of  the  same;    with  the  testimony  of  at  least 


62   DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

two  witnesses  on  the  facts  of  residence,  moral  char- 
acter, and  occupation. 

He  must  renounce  any  hereditary  title  or  order  of 
nobility. 

Section  7  states  certain  negative  qualifications 
that  are  essential;  namely,  that  he  is  not  a  disbe- 
liever in  organized  government,  an  anarchist,  or  a 
polygamist. 

Section  8  requires  that  he  shall  be  able  to  speak 
English. 

These  many  minute  specifications  imply  that  they 
constitute  "every  fact  material  to  naturahzation 
and  required  to  be  proved  upon  the  final  hearing." 

In  all  this  there  is  not  one  single  reference  to  race 
either  by  name  or  color. 

Comparing  the  qualifications  for  naturalization 
established  by  this  Act  of  June  29,  1906,  with  the 
provisions  for  the  exclusion  of  certain  classes  of  aliens 
in  the  successive  laws  dealing  with  immigration,  it  is 
clear  that  Congress  intended  to  exclude  from  the 
country  those  whom  it  regarded  as  not  fit  for  citizen- 
ship. 

Such  are  the  main  features  of  the  law  under  which 
naturalization  is  now  being  granted.^ 

If,  then,  the  law  provides  for  the  naturalization  of 
"white  persons"  and  "Africans"  and  denies  it  only 
to  Chinese,  that  is  to  say,  if  the  law  provides  for  the 

»For  this  summary ~we  are  indebted  to  the  "Ozawa  Brief,"  pre- 
pared by  Withington  and  Lightfoot. 


NATURALIZATION  63 

naturalization  of  all  except  Chinese,  how  has  it  come 
to  pass  that  such  is  not  the  interpretation  and  prac- 
tice of  the  bureau  and  of  the  courts  ? 

The  explanation  of  this  situation  seems  to  be  as 
follows: 

The  Act  of  June  29, 1906,  provided  for  the  repeal 
of  Sections  2165,  2167,  2168,  and  2173  of  Title  XXX, 
thus  leaving  unrepealed  the  famous  Section  2169, 
which  authorizes  the  naturalization  of  "white  per- 
sons," and  persons  of  African  "nativity"  or  "de- 
scent." It  was  therefore  naturally  assumed  that 
that  section  constituted  one  of  the  provisions 
regulating  natm-alization.  When  the  Bureau  of 
Naturalization  printed  its  manual  of  instruction  to 
clerks  of  court  giving  the  laws  and  regulations  to 
be  followed  by  them,  Section  2169  was  naturally 
included.  And  among  the  Regulations  was  one 
(No.  21)  requiring  that  "clerks  of  court  shall  not 
receive  declarations  of  intention,  or  file  petitions 
for  naturahzation  from  other  aliens  than  white  per- 
sons and  persons  of  African  nativity  or  of  African 
descent.  Any  alien  other  than  a  Chinese  person, 
who  claims  that  he  is  a  white  person  in  the  sense  in 
which  that  term  is  used  in  Section  2169,  Revised 
Statutes,  should  be  allowed,  if  he  insists  upon  it 
after  an  explanation  is  made  showing  him  the  risk 
of  denial,  to  file  his  declaration  or  his  petition,  as 
the  case  may  be,  leaving  the  issue  to  be  determined 
by  the  court." 


64    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

This  action  of  the  bureau  was,  however,  not  wholly- 
arbitrary,  for  after  the  passage  of  the  Chinese  ex- 
clusion law  (1882)  a  strong  tendency  had  already 
developed  in  the  courts  of  confounding  Chinese 
with  Mongolian,  contrasting  them  with  Caucasians, 
and  of  including  Japanese  among  Mongolians.  The 
Chinese  exclusion  law,  in  other  words,  gave  a  start 
to  and  standing  ground  for  a  restrictive  interpreta- 
tion of  "white  persons." 

By  these  provisions  Section  2169  was  construed 
as  a  limitation  of  privilege  to  whites,  in  a  narrow 
sense,  and  to  Africans,  the  primary  decision  as  to 
who  are  "whites"  and  "Africans"  being  left  to  clerks 
of  court. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  from  the  history  of  our 
naturalization  legislation  that  until  relatively  recent 
times  the  question  was  never  raised  as  to  the  race 
significance  of  the  term  "white  person."  Nobody 
ever  thought  of  defining  it  as  "Caucasian"  until 
Asiatics  from  east  Asia  began  to  appear  and  an  anti- 
Asiatic  movement  developed.  Desire  then  arose 
on  the  part  of  some  to  exclude  them. 

This  is  evident,  not  only  from  the  absence  until 
recently  of  all  discussion  as  to  the  race  qualification 
of  applicants  for  citizenship,  but  also  from  the  fact 
that  men  of  many  races  not  Caucasian  have  been 
and  still  are  freely  admitted  to  citizenship. 

According  to  the  popular  notion,  all  the  white 
peoples  of  Europe  to-day  are  descendants  of  a  single 


NATURALIZATION  65 

original  white  stock,  and  are,  therefore,  racially- 
speaking,  cousins.  Similarly  all  modern  Asiatic 
peoples  are  supposed  to  have  descended  from  a 
common  ancestral  yellow  stock  and  are  cousins 
among  themselves.  All  forms,  likewise,  of  the  Negro 
race  to-day  came,  it  is  assumed,  from  a  single  black 
ancestral  stock,  and  the  various  brown  and  red 
skinned  stocks  respectively. 

On  the  basis  of  this  assumed  propinquity  of  blood- 
kinship,  each  separate  people  is  popularly  supposed 
to  possess  special  capacity  of  assimilation  with 
near-by  related  peoples  of  the  same  color,  and  lack 
of  such  capacity  for  assimilation  with  those  not  so 
related. 

Modern  students,  however,  do  not  accept  the 
"common  sense"  anthropology  and  psychology 
sketched  above.  They  do  not  recognize  an  original 
single  "white  stock,"  all  of  whose  divergent  de- 
scendants are  "white."  Although  the  race  classi- 
fication of  the  human  race  by  color  may  be  popular 
and  in  some  respects  convenient,  it  is  far  from  ac- 
curate. Accuracy  requires  the  terms  "European," 
"Asiatic,"  "African";  i.  e.,  geographical  terms 
which  do  not  distinguish  races;  or  Teutonic,  Celtic, 
Semitic,  Grseco-Latin,  Scandinavian,  Chinese,  Japa- 
nese, Malay,  Negro,  etc.  Color  is  a  function  of 
climate,  not  of  race. 

The  confusion  of  "common  sense"  anthropology 
and  even  of  the  Census  Bureau  becomes  strikingly 


66    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

clear  when  the  details  of  their  classification  are 
examined. 

The  census,  for  instance,  of  1910  (vol.  I,  p.  975) 
gives  the  following  classification  and  respective 
numbers  of  various  elements  of  the  "foreign  white 
stock"  of  the  population  of  the  United  States.  It 
includes  in  the  "foreign  white  stock"  all  white  per- 
sons of  foreign  birth  and  all  white  persons  having 
parents  "one  or  both  of  whom  were  foreign  born." 

English  and  Celtic 10,037,420 

Germanic  (German,  Dutch,  and  Flemish) 9,187,007 

Scandinavian  (Swedish,  Norwegian,  and  Danish)  2,902,196 
Latin  and  Greek  (Italian,  French,  Spanish,  Por- 
tuguese, Roumanian,  Greek) 4,279,560 

Slavic  and  Lettic  (Polish,  Bohemian,  Slovak, 
Russian,  Ruthenian,  Slovenian,  Serbo-Croa- 
tian, Bulgarian,  Lithuanian,  etc.) 3,240,467 

Unclassified  and  Unknown 2,283,688 

Yiddish  and  Hebrew 1,676,762 

Magyar  (Hungarian) 320,893 

Finnish 200,688 

Armenian 30,621 

Syrian  and  Arabic 46,727 

Turkish 5,441 

Albanian 2,366 

An  inspection  of  this  table  shows  us  that  of  our 
so-called  "foreign  white  stock"  about  30,000,000  are 
so-called  "Caucasian"  and  over  2,000,000  (Magyar, 
Semitic,  Syrian,  Turkish,  and  others)  in  reaHty  are 
Asiatic.  In  spite  of  their  Asiatic  ancestry,  they 
are  all  classed  by  our  Census  Bureau  and  by  "  conmion 


NATURALIZATION 


67 


sense"  anthropology  as  "foreign  white  stock,"  and 
are  excluded  from  the  group  classed  as  "Asiatic," 

But  is  citizenship  being  actually  granted  to  these 
people  of  Asiatic  ancestry  ?  Yes,  it  is,  and  without 
question  being  raised  in  regard  to  it. 

The  census  report  (1910,  vol.  I,  p.  1082)  gives  a 
statistical  classification  of  foreign-born  white  males 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over  according  to  their 
citizenship  and  country  of  birth,  specifying  how  many 
have  been  naturalized.  The  following  table  pre- 
sents the  statistics  of  "foreign-born  white,"  some  of 
whom  nevertheless  have  Asiatic  ancestry  coming  to 
us  by  way  of  Europe;  those  also  are  included  who 
have  come  to  us  from  Mexico  and  South  America 
who,  it  is  to  be  noted,  are  also  classed  as  "foreign 
white  stock"! 


FOREIGN-BORN^  WHITE   MALES  TWENTY-ONE  YEARS 
OF  AGE  AND  OVER 


Country 

Natu- 

BALIZBO 

First 
Papers 

Alien 

Not  Re- 
ported 

Total 

In  the  U.  S.  aa  a 
whole 

From  Russia. . .  . 

From  Finland . . . 

From  Hungary .  . 

From  Bulgaria, 
etc 

3,034,117 

192,264 

21,669 

36,610 

821 

6,940 
10,932 

1,152 

570,772 
95,562 
11,279 
25,756 

908 

3,363 
2,358 

272 

2,266,535 

385,970 

32,458 

174,518 

14,552 

19,413 
67,930 

1,240 

775,393 

63,824 

5,310 

18,960 

1,243 

2,975 
20,789 

651 

6,646,817 

737,120 

70,716 

255,844 

17,524 

32,691 
102,009 

3,315 

From  Turkey  in 
Asia 

From  Mexico 

From   Central 
and  South 
America 

68     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

As  this  table  is  based  not  upon  race,  but  upon 
"country  of  birth/'  it  does  not  strictly  show  race 
kinship.  For  instance,  not  every  person  born  in 
Russia  is  a  Slav,  nor  in  Hungary  a  Magyar  (Hun- 
garian). The  facts,  however,  are  sufficiently  clear. 
Semites  (Jews,  Syrians,  and  Arabs),  Turks,  Finns, 
and  Hungarians,  Mexicans  and  South  Americans 
are  all  regarded  as  "white"  and  are  being  given 
citizenship  freely  and  without  question. 

According  to  the  regular  practice,  therefore,  of 
our  courts,  the  term  "free  white  person"  has  been 
as  a  rule  interpreted  liberally. 

In  the  face  of  these  generous  practices  which  have 
been  going  on  for  decades,  is  it  not  somewhat  absurd 
that  our  courts,  when  dealing  with  Japanese,  should 
now  hold  that  "free  white  person"  is  to  be  inter- 
preted narrowly  so  as  to  include  only  Caucasians  or 
Arians  ? 

Further  reason  for  holding  that  "free  white  per- 
son" is  a  general  inclusive  term,  not  a  specifically 
defined  inclusive  and  exclusive  term,  is  found  in 
the  difficulties  experienced  by  the  courts  in  striving 
to  administer  the  law  since  the  adoption  of  the 
latter  interpretation.  This  difficulty  and  the  re- 
sulting confusion  were  ^carefully  discussed  (June 
24,  1913)  by  Judge  Smith,  of  the  East  District 
Court  of  South  CaroHna,  in  the  case  Ex  parte 
Shahid  (205  Fed.  812).  After  asking  what  a 
"white  "  person  is,  what  an  "alien  of  African  nativ- 


NATURALIZATION  69 

ity"  is  (would  a  Chinese  born  in  Africa  come  under 
this  head?),  and  what  a  "person  of  African  descent" 
is  (would  a  person  one-half  or  one-quarter  or  three- 
quarters  Negro,  but  born  in  China  or  Japan,  India  or 
Persia,  come  under  this  head?),  the  learned  judge 
proceeds  as  follows : 

"The  language  of  the  statute  is  about  as  open  to 
many  constructions  as  it  possibly  could  be.  .  .  . 
The  statute  as  it  stands  is  most  uncertain,  ambigu- 
ous, and  difficult  both  of  construction  and  applica- 
tion. .  .  .  There  have  been  a  number  of  decisions 
in  which  the  question  (as  to  the  meaning  of  'white 
person')  has  been  treated  and  the  conclusions  ar- 
rived at  in  them  are  as  unsatisfactory  as  they  are 
varjdng.  After  considering  them  all  in  an  attempt 
to  evolve,  if  possible,  some  definite  rule  for  judicial 
decision,  the  conclusion  that  this  court  has  arrived 
at  is  as  follows : 

"That  the  meaning  of  'free  white  persons'  is  to 
be  such  as  would  naturally  have  been  given  to  it 
when  used  in  the  first  Naturalization  Act  of  1790 — 
i.  e.,  'persons  belonging  to  the  European  races.' 
...  It  would  not  mean  a  'Caucasian  Race'  .  ,  . 
nor  would  it  mean  an  'Arian  Race,'  a  word  prac- 
tically unknown  to  common  usage  in  1790.  ...  It 
would  not  mean  'Indo-European'  races  as  sometimes 
ethnologically  at  the  present  day  defined,  as  includ- 
ing the  present  mixed  Indo-European,  Hindu,  Ma- 
lay, and  Dra\'idian  inhabitants  of  East  India  and 
Ceylon;  nor  the  peoples  who  inhabit  Persia.  It 
would  mean  such  persons  as  were  in  1790  known  as 
white  Europeans  with  their  descendants  in  other 
countries  to  which  they  have  emigrated.  It  includes 
all  European  Jews  .  .  .  more  or  less  intermixed  with 


70     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

peoples  of  Celtic,  Scandinavian,  Teutonic,  Iberian, 
Latin,  Greek,  and  Slavic  descent.  It  includes  Mag- 
yars, Lapps,  and  Finns  who  are  of  Ugric  stock,  and 
the  Basques  and  Albanians.  It  includes  the  mixed 
Latin,  Celtic-Iberian,  and  Moorish  inhabitants  of 
Spain  and  Portugal,  the  mixed  Greek,  Latin,  Phoeni- 
cian, and  North  African  inhabitants  of  Sicily,  and  the 
mixed  Slav  and  Tartar  inhabitants  of  South  Russia. 

"To  say  that  a  very  dark  brown,  almost  black, 
inhabitant  of  India  is  entitled  to  rank  as  a  white 
person  because  of  a  possible  or  hypothetical  infusion 
of  white  blood  thirty  or  forty  centuries  old,  and  to 
exclude  a  Chinese  or  a  Japanese  whose  parent,  on 
one  side  was  white,  and  who  thus  possesses  mani- 
festly at  least  one-half  European  blood,  would  seem 
highly  inconsistent. 

"  One  Syrian  may  be  of  pure,  or  almost  pure  Jew- 
ish, Turkish,  or  Greek  blood,  and  another  the  pure- 
blooded  descendant  of  an  Egyptian,  an  Abyssinian, 
or  a  Sudanese.  How  is  the  court  to  decide.  It 
would  be  most  unfortunate  if  the  matter  were  left  to 
the  conclusions  of  a  judge  based  on  ocular  inspec- 
tion. .  .  .  Under  the  construction  of  the  statute 
above  fixed,  a  modern  Syrian  of  Asiatic  birth  and 
descent  would  not  be  entitled  ...  to  be  naturalized 
as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States." 

Let  us  now  note  that  Syrians  have,  nevertheless, 
been  admitted  to  citizenship  by  action  of  the  courts 
(174  Fed.  735,  December  1,  1909,  and  179  Fed.  1002, 
July  11,  1910).  And  Hindus  also  (In  re  U.  S.  vs. 
Dolla,  1910,  177  Fed.  101,  and  In  re  Mozumdar, 
207  Fed.  115,  July  11,  1912),  and  Parsees  (In  re 
U.  S.  vs.  Balsara,  180  Fed.  694,  July,  1910). 


NATURALIZATION  71 

The  Standard  citations  of  Japanese  rejections  are 
In  re  Saito,  62  Fed.  126,  June  24,  1894,  and  In  re 
Young,  195  Fed.  645,  April  24,  1912.  But  it  is  im- 
portant to  note  that  many  Japanese  have  also  been 
admitted  to  citizenship.  According  to  the  census 
of  1910  (vol.  I,  p.  1070)  420  Japanese  are  recorded  as 
having  been  naturalized,  and  387  as  possessing  first 
papers  at  the  time  of  the  census. 

The  distinguished  international  lawyer,  author, 
and  editor,  Musuji  Miyakawa,  holding  the  degree 
of  LL.D.  from  the  Indiana  State  University,  was 
admitted  to  citizenship  by  Honorable  James  B. 
Wilson,  judge  in  the  Monroe  Circuit  Court  of  the 
State  of  Indiana,  October  9,  1905.  Tanean  Matsu 
Matsuki  also  was  given  citizenship  by  naturaliza- 
tion in  the  United  States  District  Court,  of  the 
Northern  District  of  Florida,  April  9,  1907,  by  the 
Honorable  Charles  Swayne,  judge. 

Certain  Japanese  who  had  already  been  granted 
citizenship  have  had  that  status  revoked.  Mr. 
Takuji  Yamashita,  for  instance,  was  given  citizen- 
ship papers  on  May  14,  1902,  by  the  Superior  Court 
of  the  State  of  Washington.  He  later  applied  for 
admission  to  the  bar  as  an  attorney  in  the  State  of 
Washington.  It  was  held  that  the  court  which 
had  previously  granted  him  his  citizenship  papers 
had  exceeded  its  powers,  and,  therefore,  not  only 
was  his  application  refused,  but  his  citizenship 
papers  revoked  (59  L.  R.  A.  671,  70  Pac.  482). 


72     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

The  reason  given  by  the  court  for  refusing  natu- 
ralization to  Shibata  Saito  was  that  "he  was  of  the 
Mongolian  race  and  that  the  term  'white  person' 
excluded  the  Mongolian  race"  (62  Fed.  126),  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  the  laws  nowhere  mention  Mon- 
golians. The  naturahzation  laws  deal  exclusively 
with  "free  white  persons,"  persons  of  "African 
birth"  or  "descent,"  and  "Chinese."  The  only 
law  excluding  any  person  by  race,  as  already  stated, 
refers  to  Chinese. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  regulation  re- 
quiring clerks  of  court  to  refuse  applications  from 
any  aliens  save  "whites"  and  "Africans."  Such  an 
order,  however,  could  have  been  considered  neces- 
sary only  on  the  supposition  that  the  clerks  were 
receiving  applications  and  the  courts  were  giving 
naturalization  to  those  whom  the  strict  construc- 
tionists did  not  regard  as  "free  white  persons." 

The  courts,  moreover,  have  deliberately  granted 
citizenship  in  spite  of  their  own  admission  that  the 
apphcant  was  neither  white  nor  African!  A  strik- 
ing case  is  that  of  the  Mexican  Rodriguez  (81  Fed. 
337).  He  was  able  neither  to  read  nor  write,  nor 
did  he  understand  the  Constitution,  but  being  peace- 
able, industrious,  law-abiding,  and  of  good  moral 
character,  he  was  admitted.  The  court  held  that 
though  he  was  "debarred  by  the  strict  letter  of  the 
law  from  receiving  citizenship,"  yet  he  was  in  fact 
"embraced  within  the  intent  and  meaning  of  the 
statute."     "If  he  falls  within  the  intent  and  mean- 


NATURALIZATION  73 

ing  of  the  law,  his  application  should  be  granted, 
notwithstanding  the  letter  of  the  statute  may  be 
against  him,"  for  "whatever  might  be  his  status 
viewed  solely  from  the  standpoint  of  the  ethnologist, 
a  Mexican  is  embraced  within  the  intent  of  our  nat- 
urahzation  laws!" 


"The  Utah  court  held  that  a  Hawaiian,  not  be- 
ing of  the  Caucasian  or  white  race,  or  of  the  African 
race,  was  excluded.  The  court  seemed  to  include 
the  Hawaiians  as  Mongolians.  {In  re  Kanaka  Nian, 
6  Utah  259,  21  Pac.  993);  Judge  Maxey  admitted 
a  copper-colored  Mexican,  who  apparently  was  an 
Indian  of  unmixed  blood,  holding  that  Judge  Saw- 
yer's decision  might  well  be  limited  to  members  of 
the  Mongolian  race,  and  while  the  apphcant  would 
not  be,  by  any  strict  scientific  classification,  classed 
as  white,  he  fell  within  the  liberal  intent  of  the  stat- 
ute, as  shown  by  the  course  of  the  United  States 
Government  in  annexation  and  treaty,  citing  Lynch 
vs.  Clarke  as  to  the  liberal  policy  {In  re  Rodriguez, 
81  Fed.  337).  Judge  Maxey  cites  the  Acts  establish- 
ing territorial  government  for  New  Mexico  and 
Utah,  each  of  which  use  the  expression  'free  white' 
to  describe  those  entitled  to  vote,  but  which  in  the 
same  section  clearly  recognize,  as  included  in  that 
definition,  Mexicans  who  are  not  white  or  of  the 
Caucasian  race  (p.  352). 

"The  pohcy  of  the  United  States  has  been  to  in- 
clude into  its  citizenship  by  annexation  vast  num- 
bers of  members  of  races  not  Caucasian,  including 
many  Mongolian.  The  annexation  of  Hawaii  con- 
verted thousands  of  Japanese,  not  to  mention  other 
nationalities,  into  American  citizens."^ 

'  Brief  Ozawa  vs.  United  States  Ninth  Circuit  Court,  pp.  66-67. 


74     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

This  confusion  is  perhaps  greatest  in  the  decisions 
respecting  applicants  for  naturaHzation  coming  from 
colonies  ceded  to  us  by  Spain  after  the  war  of  1898. 
It  has  been  held  that  a  Filipino  was  ineligible  to 
citizenship  in  the  United  States — although  a  "  citizen 
of  the  Philippine  Islands,"  whatever  that  may  mean 
{In  re  Alverto).  And  exactly  the  contrary  has  also 
been  held  {In  re  Mallari).  These  decisions  are 
based  on  the  construction  of  a  special  section  in  the 
Act  of  1906,  and  stand  somewhat  to  one  side  of  the 
present  discussion.  They  serve,  however,  to  em- 
phasize the  practical  difficulties  of  making  racial 
ancestry  a  test  of  admissibility.  If  the  excluding 
decisions  be  correct,  the  result  is  to  establish  an  in- 
ferior class  among  persons  born  under  our  flag  and 
owing  allegiance  to  the  United  States.  If  the  con- 
trary decisions  are  correct,  Chinese  and  Japanese 
can  be  admitted  to  citizenship  if  they  happen  to  be 
born  in  a  dependency.  Of  course,  if  born  in  this 
country,  of  parents  domiciled  here,  they  are  natural- 
born  citizens,  with  the  same  rights  as  any  others. 

That  Congress  has  never  intended  to  exclude 
Japanese  from  privileges  of  naturalization  is  manifest 
from  a  consideration  not  only  of  the  fact  that  no 
reference  has  ever  been  made  to  them  in  connection 
with  the  passage  of  any  naturalization  laws  what- 
soever, but  also  from  antecedent  probabilities. 
When  the  laws  of  1870,  1873,  and  1875  were  passed, 
Japanese  immigration  had  not  yet  begim.    The 


NATURALIZATION  75 

total  number  of  Japanese  in  America  in  1870  was  47, 
and  in  1880  was  only  134.  The  exclusion  of  Japa- 
nese could  not  have  been  in  the  mind  of  any  member 
of  Congress.  Moreover,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
the  laws  of  1875  were  inclusive  of  races,  not  exclusive. 
In  1895  (March  21)  a  treaty  was  made  with  Japan. 
Four  months  earHer  (December  8,  1894)  a  treaty 
had  been  made  with  China  providing  that  Chinese 

"either  permanently  or  temporarily  residing  in  the 
United  States  shall  have,  for  the  protection  of 
their  persons  and  property,  all  the  rights  that  are 
given  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States  to  citizens 
of  the  most  favored  nation,  excepting  the  right  to 
become  naturalized  citizens.'' 

The  treaty  with  Japan,  however,  made  no  such 
limitation.    It  provided  that 

"the  citizens  or  subjects  of  each  of  the  two  high 
contracting  parties  shall  have  full  hberty  to  enter, 
travel,  or  reside  in  any  part  of  the  territories  of  the 
other  contracting  party,  and  shall  enjoy  full  and 
perfect  protection  for  their  persons  and  property." 

Comparison  of  these  two  paragraphs  shows  that 
the  "right  to  become  naturahzed  citizens"  is  by 
implication  included  in  the  rights  given  to  aliens 
"for  the  protection  of  their  persons  and  property." 
Experience,  moreover,  justifies  this  implication. 
In  a  democracy  like  America  neither  the  persons  nor 
the  property  of  "aliens  inehgible  for  naturalization" 


76     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

is  as  safe  as  the  persons  and  property  of  eligible 
aliens. 

When  the  "uniform  rule"  of  June  29,  1906,  was 
passed,  Japan  had  just  finished  her  victorious  war 
with  Russia  and  was  at  the  very  "crest  of  the  wave" 
of  her  popularity  and  friendship  in  the  United  States. 
At  such  a  time  it  is  inconceivable  that  Congress, 
without  cause  (for  the  difficulties  in  California  first 
became  acute  late  in  1907),  would  have  enacted  a 
law  "intending  to  affront  one  of  the  most  sensitive, 
warlike,  and  progressive  nations  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  by  declaring  that  its  members  were  not  fit  for 
American  citizenship."  ^ 

In  the  thoroughgoing  survey  of  this  entire  ques- 
tion presented  in  his  brief  on  the  Ozawa  case,  Mr. 
Withington  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  "white 
persons"  means  those  persons  who  are  "fit  for  citi- 
zenship and  of  the  kind  admitted  to  citizenship  by 
the  policy  of  the  United  States."^ 

Even  so  recently  as  February,  1917,  when  Congress 
passed  the  most  drastic  and  exclusive  immigration 
laws  that  have  ever  been  enacted  in  the  United 
States,  it  took  particular  pains  not  to  enact  any 
phrase  possibly  implying  Japanese  ineligibility  for 
citizenship.  A  phrase  that  might  perhaps  be  so 
interpreted  was  deliberately  dropped  at  the  request 
of  the  Department  of  State  (which  had  received  a 
protest   from  the  Japanese   Government),    and  a 

1  "Ozawa  Brief,"  p.  30.  *  P.  67. 


NATURALIZATION  77 

clause  was  inserted  in  its  place  specifying  by  latitude 
and  longitude  those  to  whom  immigration  would  be 
refused.  The  debates  in  Congress  in  connection 
with  that  bill  show  how  solicitous  its  members  were 
to  avoid  even  a  possible  implication  that  Japanese 
were  an  inferior  people,  unfit  for  our  life  and,  there- 
fore, ineligible  for  naturalization. 

Historically  speaking,  therefore,  and  also  in  the 
major  part  of  the  practice  of  our  courts,  the  term 
"free  white  person"  in  our  naturaHzation  law  is  an 
inclusive,  not  an  exclusive  term.  It  includes  all 
races  except  the  black  and  others  that  may  be 
specifically  mentioned.  WTien  slavery  ceased,  citi- 
zenship by  naturalization  was  "extended  to  aliens 
of  African  nativity  and  persons  of  African  descent." 
The  implicit  intention  evidently  was  to  grant  the 
privilege  of  citizenship  by  naturalization  to  all 
races — from  the  extreme  white  to  the  extreme  black. 

With  the  advent,  however,  of  Chinese  and  Japa- 
nese immigration,  a  new  problem  has  arisen  that 
had  not  been  considered  either  in  1790,  when  the 
first  law  of  naturalization  was  passed,  nor  at  any 
later  date,  even  in  1870,  when  the  law  of  naturaliza- 
tion was  "extended"  to  include  Africans.  Under 
the  stress  of  the  new  situation  caused  by  Asiatic  im- 
migration and  an  anti- Asiatic  movement  a  tendency 
has  recently  developed,  and  has  been  officially 
authorized  by  the  courts,  to  interpret  the  term  "  free 
white  person"  in  a  narrow  and  exclusive  sense  when 


78     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

it  comes  to  dealing  with  Asiatics  coming  directly 
from  east  Asia.  The  thought  has  not  yet  occurred 
to  interpret  it  strictly  in  dealing  with  Asiatics  who 
come  to  us  by  way  of  Europe  (Turks,  Huns,  Finns, 
Syrians,  Persians,  Hindus,  Semites). 

When  the  courts  began  to  apply  the  narrower  in- 
terpretation of  "white"  to  the  races  they  soon 
found  themselves  in  inmiense  confusion.  Some 
strove  to  use  it  as  a  term  distinctive  of  race,  others 
as  a  term  distinctive  of  color,  and  still  others  as  a 
term  distinctive  of  geographical  locaHty. 

In  view  of  the  confusion  disclosed  above  it  is  time 
for  a  full,  fresh,  and  frank  discussion  of  the  attitude 
that  America  should  take  to  the  various  races  of 
mankind.  What  exactly  are  the  fundamental  ideals 
and  principles  upon  which  the  United  States  has 
been  founded?  Are  they  ideals  and  principles  that 
we  should  carry  out,  or  should  we  modify  them  ? 

Whether  or  not  the  privileges  of  naturalization 
should  be  granted  to  Asiatics  and  to  men  of  every 
race  entirely  upon  personal  qualifications,  and  re- 
gardless of  race,  is  a  problem  that  should  be  argued 
on  the  broadest  grounds  and  from  the  widest  out- 
look. Even  if  it  could  be  conclusively  shown  that 
"free  white  persons"  in  the  original  law  was  specifi- 
cally intended  to  include  Asiatics,  that  would  not 
be  a  reason  for  granting  them  those  privileges  if 
the  reasons  against  it  now  are  sound.  And  con- 
versely, even  though  the  founders  of  our  republic 


NATURALIZATION  79 

consciously  intended  to  exclude  every  race  save 
European  whites,  that  should  not  prevent  us  from 
broadening  our  outlook  and  treatment  of  the  great 
races  of  Asia,  should  the  new  era  of  human  history 
upon  which  mankind  is  rapidly  entering  require  it. 

In  view  of  the  modern  world  as  described  in  our 
first  chapter,  and  of  the  many  facts  and  considera- 
tions presented  in  this  and  the  intervening  chapters, 
we  contend  that  the  time  has  come  for  the  United 
States  to  adopt  a  new  poHcy  in  regard  both  to  immi- 
gration and  to  naturalization.  Let  us  establish  the 
rigid  regulation  of  immigration  from  every  country, 
fixing  the  annual  maximum  permissible  immigration 
on  the  basis  of  their  Americanization.  Let  us  estab- 
lish high  standards  of  naturalization  and  provide 
for  their  strict  administration.  On  the  basis  of  this 
rigid  regulation  of  immigration  and  naturalization, 
let  us  amend  our  laws  dealing  with  ehgibility  for 
citizenship  so  as  to  give  this  privilege  to  every  in- 
dividual who  qualifies  regardless  of  his  race  or  place 
of  birth. 

Such  a  policy  as  this,  we  contend,  is  required  by 
American  ideals  of  thoroughgoing  democracy.  To 
the  consideration  of  this  contention  the  following 
chapter  is  devoted. 

Note:  The  author  is  indebted  to  the  "  Ozawa  Brief"  for  many  impor- 
tant suggestions.  Mr.  Ozawa  toolc  out  his  first  papers  in  California  in  1902 
and  applied  for  naturalization  in  Honolulu  in  1915.  Upon  refusal,  at  the 
recommendation  of  the  local  court  he  appealed  to  the  Ninth  Circuit  Court. 
This  Brief  argues  that  the  Act  of  1906  is  a  "  uniform  rule  "  and  is  not  con- 
trolled by  Section  2169,  which  section  applies  only  to  those  "  specially  ex- 
cepted classes  provided  for  in  the  unrepealed  sections  in  Title  XXX."  The 
case  has  already  gone  to  the  Supreme  Court  but  is  not  likely  to  be  taken  up 
before  the  autumn  of  1918. 


CHAPTER  VI 
DEMOCRACY  AND  CITIZENSHIP 

New  Japan  and  New  China  have  rendered  obso- 
lete the  past  poHcies  of  the  United  States  in  deal- 
ing with  those  peoples.  In  seeking,  however,  to 
formulate  the  nature  and  the  specific  forms  of  the 
new  policy  now  needed,  many  principles  and  fac- 
tors must  be  kept  in  mind. 

The  new  policy  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  fun- 
damental principles  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  no  less  than  with  the  general  principles  of 
human  right  and  justice.  The  United  States  is  en- 
gaged in  one  of  the  most  important  experiments  in 
government  that  has  ever  been  made — democracy. 
We  are  under  obligations  not  only  in  loyalty  to  our 
ancestors  to  carry  through  this  experiment  to 
genuine  and  full  success,  but  we  are  under  still 
greater  obligations  to  our  descendants  and,  indeed, 
to  all  the  world;  for  their  permanent  weal  or  woe 
depends  in  no  slight  degree  on  the  success  or  failure 
of  our  experiment. 

We  are  under  obligations,  therefore,  to  eliminate 
just  so  far  as  we  possibly  can  those  factors  that 
threaten  its  success.  Beyond  question  one  of  the 
most  important  and  difficult  of  these  factors  is  that 

80 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CITIZENSHIP  81 

of  race.  Democracy  among  a  people  thoroughly 
homogeneous  as  to  race  is  difficult  enough  even  at 
the  best.  Where  different  peoples  and  races  are  in- 
volved the  difficulty  is  vastly  increased.  This  is  one 
of  the  difficulties  with  which  we  are  faced  to-day. 

How  shall  we  deal  with  it?  No  more  important 
practical  question  at  present  confronts  our  states- 
men, our  legislators,  and  the  rank  and  file  of  our 
citizenship;  for  in  a  democracy  every  citizen  has  his 
responsibility  in  shaping  its  poHcies  and  in  framing 
its  laws. 

Now  that  the  world  has  become  so  small  and  all 
its  parts  so  wonderfully  accessible  each  to  the  other; 
now  that  its  commercial  and  industrial  unity  has 
become  so  intricate  and  interdependent;  now  that 
each  important  race  and  people  has  developed  not 
only  self-consciousness,  but  amazing  powers  of  ex- 
pansion, the  problems  of  race  loom  up  as  never  be- 
fore in  human  history. 

If  America,  with  its  vast^  and  imperfectly  assimi- 
lated populations  of  diverse  peoples  from  Europe 
and  Africa,  west  Asia  and  Mexico,  is  to  make  a 
success  of  its  democracy,  she  must  understand  her 
problem  more  clearly,  and  with  adequate  principles 
and  convictions  she  must  grapple  with  it  intelligently. 

What,  then,  are  the  fundamental  principles  and 
ideals  upon  which  the  republic  of  the  United  States 
was  founded,  by  which  it  lives,  and  upon  the  thor- 
ough application  of  which  alone  it  can  prosper? 


82     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

"We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all 
men  are  created  equal,  that  they  are  endowed  by 
their  Creator  with  certain  inaUenable  rights,  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  That  to  secure  these  rights,  governments 
are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed." 


So  spoke  the  founders  of  the  republic  in  their  his- 
toric "Declaration  of  Independence."  The  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  sought  to  embody 
these  fundamental  principles  in  concrete  form. 
Elaborate  provisions  were  made  for  representative 
government  by  which  not  only  to  secure  for  as- 
sured majorities  the  final  right  to  direct  the  govern- 
ment, but  also  to  secure  to  minorities  and  especially 
to  individuals  their  inalienable  rights  and  liberties, 
which  no  majorities  might  take  away.  As  time 
went  on,  however,  a  profound  divergence  of  opinion 
and  practice  developed  in  regard  to  the  Negro.  A 
great  civil  war  was  fought  over  two  fundamental 
questions — 

First:  Are  we  a  true  nation  or  a  loose  federation 
from  which  States  may  secede  at  will  ? 

Second:  Is  our  government  to  be  thoroughly  and 
genuinely  democratic,  or  is  it  to  be  aristocratic  ? 

From  the  midst  of  that  war  there  came  an  ever- 
memorable  utterance  calling  the  nation  back  to  its 
ideal.  "Four  score  and  seven  years  ago,"  said  our 
great  President  of  the  Civil  War,  "our  forefathers 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CITIZENSHIP  83 

brought  forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  dedi- 
cated to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created 
equal." 

And  after  the  war  was  over  important  amend- 
ments were  made  to  the  Constitution,  and  to  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  seeking  to  express  more 
adequately  and  to  embody  more  perfectly  in  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  land  the  ideals  and  prin- 
ciples upon  which  this  nation  was  established. 
Among  the  most  important  of  these  were  the 
Thirteenth,  Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  Amendments 
to  the  Constitution,  and  the  amendment  of  the  law 
specifying  who  were  ehgible  for  citizenship  by  nat- 
uraHzation. 

The  Thirteenth  Amendment  forbade  slavery  and 
involuntary  servitude. 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment  provided  that  "All 
persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States 
and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof  are  citizens 
of  the  United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they 
reside.  No  State  shall  make  or  indorse  any  law 
which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  immunities  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States;  nor  shall  any  State 
deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property  with- 
out due  process  of  law;  nor  deny  to  any  person  within 
its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws." 

And  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  provided  that 
"the  rights  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote 
shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States 


-84     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

or  by  any  State,  on  account  of  race,  color  or  previous 
condition  of  servitude." 

The  amendment  of  the  law  in  regard  to  naturaliza- 
tion provides  (July  14,  1870)  that  "the  Naturaliza- 
tion laws  are  hereby  extended  to  aliens  of  African 
nativity  and  to  persons  of  African  descent." 

These  citations  from  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
land  estabhsh  the  following  as  the  general  principles 
and  ideals  of  our  government: 

1.  All  men,  regardless  of  race  or  place  of  bii-th, 
are  created  equal. 

2.  They  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  cer- 
tain rights  that  are  inahenable;  that  is,  rights  which 
belong  to  them  as  persons  regardless  of  race;  rights, 
moreover,  which  governments  do  not  create. 

3.  Governments  may  not  pass  laws  that  arbitrarily 
or  wantonly  interfere  with  or  abridge  these  inalien- 
able rights. 

4.  All  persons,  regardless  of  race,  if  born  in  the 
United  States,  are  by  that  fact  alone  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  the  State  in  which  they  re- 
side. 

5.  All  citizens  of  the  United  States,  regardless  of 
race,  are  entitled  to  vote,  which  right  "shall  not  be 
denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States"  as  a  whole 
nor  by  any  individual  State  "on  account  of  race, 
color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude." 

6.  All  persons  in  the  United  States  and  subject  to 
its  jurisdiction,  whatever  be  their  race,  and  whether 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CITIZENSHIP  85 

or  not  they  are  citizens  of  the  United  States,  are  en- 
titled to  "the  equal  protection  of  the  laws." 

7.  Neither  our  Constitution,  our  laws,  nor  our 
general  system  and  theory  of  government  con- 
template the  presence  among  us  of  a  permanent, 
alien  population,  ineligible  for  citizenship.  Our 
entire  political  structure  rests  upon  the  assumption 
that  all  adult  males  are  possessed  of  the  suffrage. 
Many  States  now  include  all  adult  females  among 
those  who  have  suffrage  rights. 

8.  And  finally,  since  the  Civil  War,  and  especially 
since  1870,  when  naturalization  privileges  were 
"extended"  to  persons  of  African  birth  or  descent, 
the  impHcit  assumption  of  pre\4ous  decades  has  be- 
come more  pronounced  that  any  man  who  will 
qualify  for  citizenship  may  secure  that  privilege. 

Light  may  also  be  thrown  on  the  subject  of  this 
chapter  from  certain  sections  of  our  treaties  with 
China. 

The  treaty  cormnonly  known  as  the  "Burlingame 
Treaty"  (1868),  already  quoted  in  Chapter  III, 
contained  three  articles  of  special  significance  in  this 
connection.  They  contain  "a  strong  recognition 
of  the  inherent  and  inalienable  rights  of  man  to 
change  his  home  and  his  allegiance."  This  treaty 
"was  regarded  by  the  whole  nation  as  a  grand  tri- 
imiph  of  American  diplomacy  and  principles,  and 
Mr.  Burlingame,  on  his  return  to  San  Francisco, 
received  an  extraordinary  ovation  as  a  benefactor 


86     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

of  his  country  .  .  .  and  for  having  secured  from 
China  a  recognition  of  what  many  called  the  great 
'American  doctrine'  of  the  inherent  and  inalienable 
right  of  man  to  change  his  home  and  his  allegiance." 
When  the  question  of  restricting  Chinese  immigra- 
tion to  the  United  States  was  under  discussion  in 
Congress,  Senator  Oliver  P.  Morton  delivered  a 
notable  address  on  the  bearing  of  the  theory  and 
practice  of  our  government  upon  the  proposed  pro- 
hibition. From  that  valuable  discussion  I  take  the 
following  suggestive  paragi-aphs: 

"It  is  our  proudest  boast  that  American  institu- 
tions are  not  arbitrary  in  their  character;  are  not 
the  simple  creations  of  force  and  circumstance,  but 
based  upon  great  and  eternal  doctrines  of  the 
equality  and  natural  rights  of  men.  The  founda- 
tion-stone in  our  political  edifice  is  the  declaration 
that  all  men  are  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by 
their  Creator  with  inalienable  rights;  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness; 
that  to  obtain  these,  governments  are  instituted 
among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed." 

"  The  limitation  of  the  right  to  become  naturalized 
to  white  persons  was  placed  in  the  law  when  slavery 
was  a  controlling  influence  in  our  government,  was 
maintained  by  the  power  of  that  institution,  and  is 
now  retained  by  the  lingering  prejudices  growing  out 
of  it.  After  having  abolished  slavery  and  by  amend- 
ments to  our  Constitution  and  the  enactment  of 
various  statutes  establishing  the  equal  civil  and 
political  rights  of  all  men,  without  regard  to  race  or 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CITIZENSHIP  87 

color,  and,  at  a  time  when  we  are  endeavoring  to  over- 
come the  prejudices  of  education  and  of  race,  and  to 
secure  to  colored  men  the  equal  enjoyment  of  their 
rights,  it  would  be  inconsistent  and  unsound  policy  to 
renew  and  reassert  the  prejudices  against  race." 

"As  Americans,  standing  upon  the  great  doctrine 
to  which  I  have  referred,  and  seeking  to  educate 
the  masses  into  their  belief,  and  charged  with  the 
administration  of  the  laws  by  which  equal  rights  and 
protection  shall  be  extended  to  all  races  and  condi- 
tions, we  cannot  now  safely  take  a  new  departure 
which,  in  another  form,  shall  resurrect  and  re- 
establish those  odious  distinctions  of  race  which 
brought  upon  us  the  late  Civil  War,  and  from  which 
we  fondly  hoped  that  God  in  his  providence  had 
delivered  us  forever." 

"But  before  entering  upon  the  discussion  of  any 
other  principles,  I  may  be  permitted  to  observe 
that,  in  my  judgment,  the  Chinese  cannot  be  pro- 
tected in  the  Pacific  States  while  remaining  in  their 
alien  condition.  Without  representation  in  the 
legislature  or  Congress,  without  a  voice  in  the  selec- 
tion of  officers,  and  surrounded  by  fierce  and,  in 
many  respects,  unscrupulous  enemies,  the  law  will 
be  found  insufficient  to  screen  them  from  persecu- 
tion. Complete  protection  can  be  given  them  only 
by  allowing  them  to  become  citizens  and  acquire 
the  right  of  suffrage,  when  their  votes  would  become 
important  in  elections,  and  their  persecutions,  in 
great  part,  converted  into  kindly  solicitation."  ^ 

After  these  words  were  uttered,  and  in  spite  of 
their  solemn  warning,  the  anti-Chinese  movement  in 
the  United  States  grew  to  such  proportions  that, 

*  Forty-fifth  C!ongress,  2d  Session,  Senate  Misc.  Doc,  20. 


88     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

not  only  was  Chinese  immigration  stopped  and  citi- 
zenship forbidden  by  special  Act  of  Congress,  in 
1882,  but  later  legislation  became  so  drastic  that  its 
constitutionality  and  harmony  with  the  treaty  was, 
as  we  saw  in  the  preceding  chapter,  tested  by  Chi- 
nese appeal  to  our  courts. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  now  the  situation  of 
the  Chinese  in  the  United  States  has  been  humiliating 
to  them  and  shameful  for  us.  We  have  been  fla- 
grantly disregarding  fundamental  principles  of  our 
national  life,  throwing  doubt  on  our  loyalty  to  those 
principles,  and  raising  the  question  whether  or  not 
we  shall  be  able  to  carry  out  to  their  completion  the 
splendid  democratic  ideals  of  our  forefathers. 

Recent  events,  however,  have  served  to  accentuate 
afresh  our  national  ideals.  We  have  entered  the 
world  war  "to  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy," 
to  use  President  Wilson's  memorable  phrase.  His 
great  war  "Message"  of  April  2,  1917,  thi-ows  no 
little  light  on  the  principles  and  ideals  upon  which 
this  nation  was  founded  and  for  which  it  to-day 
stands  before  the  world  in  a  new  way. 


"But  the  right  is  more  precious  than  peace,  and 
we  shall  fight  for  the  things  which  we  have  always 
carried  nearest  our  hearts — ^for  democracy,  for  the 
right  of  those  who  submit  to  authority  to  have  a 
voice  in  their  own  govermnents,  for  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  small  nations,  for  a  universal  dominion  of 
right  by  such  a  concert  of  free  peoples  as  shall  bring 


DEMOCRACY  AND  CITIZENSHIP  89 

peace  and  safety  to  all  nations  and  make  the  world 
itself  at  last  free." 

"  To  such  a  task  we  can  dedicate  our  lives  and 
our  fortunes,  everything  that  we  are  and  everything 
that  we  have,  with  the  pride  of  those  who  know  that 
the  day  has  come  when  America  is  privileged  to 
spend  her  blood  and  her  might  for  the  principles  that 
gave  her  birth  and  happiness,  and  the  peace  which 
she  has  treasured.  God  helping  her,  she  can  do  no 
other." 

In  these  ringing  words  and  in  many  others  equally 
impressive  and  incisive  our  great  President  has 
stressed  again  and  again  our  fundamental  national 
ideals  of  "right"  and  "justice,"  of  "liberty"  and 
"democracy,"  of  fair  dealing  and  truthfulness,  de- 
nouncing national  deceit,  arbitrariness,  selfishness, 
and  autocracy. 

But  is  it  not  clear  that,  if  "the  world  is  to  be  made 
safe  for  democracy,"  democracies  must  themselves 
carry  out  their  fundamental  principles  in  dealing 
with  minorities,  especially  when  they  consist  of 
aliens?  Do  aHens  have  "inalienable  rights"? 
What  are  they  ?  How  may  they  be  secured  in  law 
and  in  practice  ? 

These  are  questions  of  increasingly  pressing  in- 
sistence and  importance,  now  that  the  world  has 
grown  so  small  and  the  increasing  contact  of  peoples 
and  races  has  become  so  intimate  and  intricate.  Can 
democracy  be  permanently  maintained  and  made 
safe  for  the  world  unless  the  rights  of  minorities 


90     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

and  of  aliens  within  each  democracy  are  safe- 
guarded? Can  America  expect  Austria-Hungary, 
the  Balkan  States,  Turkey,  or  even  Germany  to  treat 
fairly  their  respective  minorities  if  America  cannot, 
or  will  not,  herself  do  so  ? 

China  and  Russia  are  fairly  started  on  their  experi- 
ments in  democracy.  Shall  America  set  them  an 
example  of  fair  dealing  with  race  minorities  and  point 
the  only  road  that  can  possibly  lead  to  success, 
through  a  thoroughgoing  application  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  democracy,  or  shall  America 
prove  a  blind  guide,  stumbHng  along  a  devious  path 
of  arrogance,  selfishness,  and  injustice  in  dealing 
with  ahen  minorities,  a  path  that  leads  inevitably 
to  ever-recurring  race  conflicts  and  tragedies  ? 

These  are  the  alternatives  confronting  us  to-day. 

We  turn  next  to  the  question  of  the  rights  and 
duties  of  nations  as  related  especially  to  problems 
raised  by  race  difference  and  immigration. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES  OF  NATIONS 

Race  difference;  race  pride,  and  race  prejudice 
are  closely  interrelated.  They  are,  moreover,  physi- 
ological and  psychological  facts  of  immense  impor- 
tance in  human  life.  So  long  as  races  remained  in 
their  natural  homes  these  facts  constituted  no  special 
problem.  The  problem  arises  when  trade  and  immi- 
grations develop.  So  long  as  races  continue  and 
have  intercourse,  race  difference,  pride,  and  preju- 
dice will  constitute  important  factors  in  their  acti\d- 
ties  and  history. 

A  new  era,  however,  has  begun.  Geographical 
barriers  between  races  have  disappeared.  Multi- 
tudinous varieties  of  mankind  are  not  only  face  to 
face  economically  and  politically,  but  are  rapidly 
intermixing  their  populations.  Economic  necessi- 
ties, opportunities,  and  ambitions  are  carrying  multi- 
tudes of  one  people  into  the  lands  of  other  peoples. 
Problems  of  a  serious  nature  are  thus  arising. 

Whereas  in  ancient  times  the  conquest  of  one 

people  by  another  took  place  by  means  of  superior 

martial  force,  such  conquest  may  now  be  made  by 

the  mere  fact  of  migration.    New  England  furnishes 

a  striking  illustration  of  this  latter  method  in  process 

of  realization. 

91 


92     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

In  the  light  of  this  modern  situation  due  to  van- 
ished geographical  barriers  and  to  easy  migrations 
of  races,  what  are  the  rights  and  the  duties  of  na- 
tions? Has  any  people  an  inherent  right  to  mi- 
grate where  it  will  regardless  of  previous  occupants  ? 
And  has  any  people  a  right  to  possess  in  self- 
ishness its  own  vast,  fertile,  and  sparsely  settled 
territory,  and  to  exclude  immigrants  from  lands 
heavily  peopled  and  possessing  slight  natural  re- 
sources ? 

A  full  discussion  of  this  intricate  question,  how- 
ever, is  no  part  of  the  plan  of  this  volume.  We 
desire  merely  to  state  in  briefest,  and  therefore  it 
must  be  in  dogmatic,  form  the  principal  positions 
which  are  felt  to  be  both  right  and  necessary.  The 
following  principles  as  to  the  rights  and  duties  of 
nations  seem  to  be  self-evident : 

1.  Races  and  peoples  have  certain  inherent  and 
inalienable  rights,  such  as  the  rights  to  life,  to  liberty, 
to  growth,  and  to  the  determination  and  pursuit 
of  their  own  cultural  ends. 

2.  These  rights,  however,  are  subject  to  the 
limitations  of  good-neighborliness.  And,  in  these 
modern  days,  all  nations  and  races  are  neighbors 
and  should  be  neighborly. 

3.  Races  and  peoples  have  also  certain  inescapable 
duties.  No  longer  are  they  free  to  carry  on  their 
lives  in  total  disregard  of  the  interests  and  needs 
of  others.    They  are  in  fact  members  one  of  an- 


RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES  OF  NATIONS         93 

other.  None  liveth  to  himseK  alone.  The  strong 
should  bear  the  burdens  of  the  weak.  Those  that 
are  advanced  must  in  patience  and  good-will  aid 
those  that  are  backward  and  undeveloped. 

4.  Each  nation  and  people  should  keep  order  and 
administer  even-handed  justice  to  all  within  its 
jurisdiction — to  citizens  and  to  ahens  alike.  Failure 
in  this  limits,  and  may  in  extreme  cases  suspend,  the 
right  to  liberty  and  may  impose  the  duty  upon  some 
neighbor  or  neighbors  of  taking  control  of  the 
government  which  fails  to  perform  its  duty. 

5.  No  nation  has  the  right  selfishly  to  close  its 
doors  completely  and  absolutely  against  the  rest, 
whether  collectively  or  discriminatively.  For  no 
single  people  is  complete  in  itself.  Each  needs  all 
the  rest  for  its  own  fullest  life,  and  each  has  its 
duty  to  all.  The  mutual  interchange  of  industrial 
products  and  cultural  achievements  is  essential  for 
mutual  welfare. 

6.  Each  nation  is  entitled  to  establish  such  re- 
strictions of  trade  or  migration  as  threaten  economic, 
industrial,  political,  or  social  disaster.  Such  trade 
and  migration  as  do  not  harm  its  neighbors  are 
inahenable  rights  of  each  people. 

7.  In  the  past,  each  people  has  been  its  own  sole 
judge  as  to  what  trade  and  what  immigration  are 
desirable  and  what  are  harmful.  Each  has  decided 
these  questions  from  entirely  selfish  considerations. 
The  time  has  come  when  these  matters  should  be 


94     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

settled  by  mutual  conference,  guided  by  principles 
of  mutual  consideration  and  the  highest  welfare  of 
the  whole.  Should  not  all  legislation  of  any  nation, 
restricting  within  its  territory  the  privileges  of  oth- 
ers, receive  for  final  sanction  the  approval  of  an  in- 
ternational commission  ? 

8.  Immigrants  who  go  to  a  land  practically  un- 
possessed by  a  people  having  settled  government 
may  properly  regard  themselves  as  colonists  and 
their  new  territory  as  an  acquisition  for  their  people 
and  government. 

9.  Immigrants,  however,  who  go  to  a  land  already 
effectively  possessed  and  governed  are  not  entitled 
to  regard  themselves  as  colonists.  It  is  their  duty, 
if  they  plan  to  stay  permanently  in  their  new  home, 
to  adapt  themselves  to  the  life  of  its  people  and  to 
be  assimilated  to  the  same. 

10.  Any  people  receiving  alien  immigrants  has 
the  right  to  limit  such  immigration  to  a  point  of 
efficient  assimilation,  thus  avoiding  the  dangers  and 
difficulties  inevitable  when  large  groups  of  peoples 
of  different  customs,  language,  ideas,  and  religion 
occupy  a  common  territory. 

11.  Immigrants  to  any  land,  lawfully  admitted, 
can  rightly  claim  a  treatment  that  is  friendly  and 
fair.  Aliens  may  not  seek  to  upset  the  government 
nor  to  injure  the  economic  conditions  of  the  land 
where  they  are  guests,  nor  may  they  claim  as  an 
inherent  right  a  share  in  its  government. 


RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES  OF  NATIONS         95 

12.  A  nation  admitting  to  its  territory  immigrants 
from  different  peoples  and  races  is  under  obligation 
to  give  them  equal  treatment  and  opportunity. 
Discrimination  of  privileges,  granting  to  individuals 
of  one  people  what  is  denied  to  individuals  of  another 
people,  a  discrimination  based  exclusively  on  race 
difference,  cannot  fail  to  be  regarded  as  unfair  and 
unjust. 

The  above  paragraphs  do  not,"of  course,  cover  the 
whole  range  of  the  rights  and  duties  of  nations  and 
peoples,  but  they  indicate  sufficiently  the  general 
principles  that  seem  to  the  writer  to  underlie  the 
right  relations  of  peoples  in  regard  to  immigration 
and,  in  a  democracy  like  the  United  States,  to 
naturalization. 

In  general,  the  policy  to  be  more  completely  stated 
in  the  next  chapter  rests  upon  the  assumption  that 
a  nation  (in  this  case  the  United  States)  has  the  in- 
herent right  to  restrict  immigration  from  any  and 
every  people,  which  threatens  to  bring  harm  either 
economic,  political,  or  social.  To  those  immigrants 
whom  it  has  permitted  to  enter,  it  is,  however,  under 
obligations  to  give,  regardless  of  their  race,  a  fair 
opportunity  and  a  square  deal.  It  should  help  them 
to  make  good.  It  should  help  them  to  fit  themselves 
into  the  life  of  the  land  they  have  adopted. 

For  its  own  sake,  a  country  like  America,  which 
is  the  Eldorado  now  of  all  peoples  and  races  of  the 
earth,  should  so  regulate  immigration  as  to  prevent 


96     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

the  coming  of  more  than  can  be  properly  American- 
ized. The  degree  and  the  rapidity  of  the  American- 
ization of  those  already  admitted  from  any  partic- 
ular people  or  race  should  be  the  gauge  by  which  to 
reckon  the  number  of  newcomers  that  may  annually 
be  admitted  from  that  same  race  or  people. 

Having  admitted  immigrants  from  various  races 
and  peoples,  America  is  under  moral  obligations  to 
give  them  such  opportunity  and  treatment  as  will 
incorporate  them  most  wholesomely  and  rapidly 
into  their  new  home.  This  means  a  treatment  free 
from  race  discrimination.  Such  a  policy  and  method 
are  not  only  matters  of  right  and  duty,  but  are  also 
matters  of  enlightened  self-interest. 

A  more  detailed  statement  of  this  policy  and  pro- 
gramme we  give  in  the  following  chapter.  This, 
however,  is  the  fitting  place  in  which  to  consider  the 
claims  of  those  alien  races  which  ask  for  free,  or  at 
least  for  large,  immigration  to  this  land. 

Many  Japanese,  for  instance,  find  difficulty  in  see- 
ing in  American  rejection  of  free  Asiatic  immigra- 
tion any  reason  but  that  of  selfishness  and  race 
prejudice.  Their  argument  runs  somewhat  as  fol- 
lows: If  Europeans  had  the  right  two  and  three 
hundred  years  ago  to  enter  America  freely  in  spite 
of  the  presence  of  Indians,  and  if  unlimited  immi- 
gration is  allowed  to-day  from  any  land  of  Europe, 
and  from  any  class  of  its  people,  have  not  Japanese 
the  same  inherent  right  to  come  to  this  land  ?    Does 


RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES  OF  NATIONS         97 

not  Japan's  heavy  population  of  nearly  400  to  the 
square  mile  give  her  an  inherent  right  to  send  her 
emigrants  to  a  land  whose  population  is  less  than 
40,  and  large  sections  of  it  less  than  10,  to  the  square 
mile? 

These  are  confessedly  difficult  questions  of  inter- 
national rights  and  duties.  It  is  no  part  of  our  pur- 
pose to  defend  the  selfish  and  oftentimes  ruthless 
aggressions  of  Europeans  in  the  early  invasion  of 
this  continent.  The  wrong,  however,  consisted  not 
in  their  coming,  but  in  their  treatment  of  the  native 
populations. 

Japanese,  defending  their  case,  urge  that  their  im- 
migrants to  this  land  are  not  inferior  to  those  whom 
we  freely  admit  from  south  and  east  Europe.  This 
is  now  readily  admitted  by  most  Americans.  Many, 
indeed,  acknowledge  that  Japanese  immigrants  are 
probably  superior  in  intelligence,  in  diligence,  in 
sobriety,  in  reliability,  and  in  thrift  to  those  who 
come  from  south  and  east  Europe. 

If  this  is  a  fact,  is  not  American  refusal  to  admit 
them  in  unlimited  numbers  an  expression  of  race 
selfishness  and  race  prejudice?  What  reply  can 
be  made  to  these  arguments  of  clear-headed  Japa- 
nese? The  reply  would  seem  to  be  somewhat  as 
follows: 

There  are  important  differences  between  immi- 
grants from  Asia  and  those  from  Europe.  The  vast 
majority  of  the  latter  come  to  America  with  their 


98     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

wives  and  children  to  make  permanent  homes 
here,  surrendering  allegiance  to  their  native  lands 
and  accepting  loyalty  to  this. 

Chinese  and  Japanese  immigrants,  on  the  con- 
trary, have  consisted  chiefly  thus  far  of  transient 
males.  They  have  come  for  short  periods  of  work. 
Their  scale  of  life  and  their  industrial  and  economic 
standards  have  made  them  formidable  foes  to  the 
permanent  industrial  workers  of  America.  This 
has  been  probably  the  main  reason  why  the  anti- 
Asiatic  movement  has  met  with  such  wide-spread 
indorsement,  not  only  among  the  working  classes, 
but  by  practically  all  classes. 

The  economic  advantage  to  American  employers 
of  labor  of  that  large,  efficient,  and  transient  Asiatic 
immigration  is  freely  admitted  by  every  one.  And 
even  now,  if  Americans  could  be  certain  that  addi- 
tional Asiatic  immigration  would  be  transient,  all  of 
it  returning  in  a  few  years  to  Asia,  many  would  favor 
its  generous  admission  for  a  while  longer  because  of 
the  important  work  they  could  do  on  railroads  and 
farms  as  day-laborers. 

Americans  now  see,  however,  that  Asiatic  immi- 
grants are  ceasing  to  be  transients.  They  are 
settling  down  for  permanency  here. 

During  the  period  of  free  Chinese  inmiigration 
(i.  e.,  up  to  1882),  although  about  300,000  men  en- 
tered this  land,  less  than  9,000  women  came  with 
them.    Of  the  Japanese,  however,  between  1896  and 


RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES  OF  NATIONS         99 

1908,  when  the  "gentlemen's  agreement"  put  re- 
straint upon  immigration  from  Japan  to  126,835 
men,  as  many  as  20,687  women  were  admitted. 
But  even  with  this  relatively  large  admission  of 
women  deplorable  sex  problems  developed,  and  also 
violent  opposition  from  those  white  laborers  who  had 
families  to  support  and  desired  to  do  so  on  the 
American  standards  of  labor  and  of  living.  When 
free  labor  immigration  ceased  from  China  and 
Japan  respectively,  whereas  the  number  of  Chinese 
women  admitted  annually  dropped  off  about  one- 
half,  that  of  Japanese  women  increased  many  fold. 
Facts  and  figures  with  regard  to  these  matters  will 
be  given  in  later  chapters. 

Although  the  number  of  Japanese  and  Chinese  in 
America  at  present  is  not  large,  absolutely,  in  the 
minds  of  thoughtful  Americans  it  raises  serious  ques- 
tions that  the  Japanese  themselves  cannot  easily 
understand. 

The  American  people  have  had  and  still  have  a 
problem  of  the  most  serious  character  in  the  Negro. 
It  is  not  economic.  It  is  wholly  racial,  having  moral, 
political,  and  social  aspects  of  the  gravest  character. 
The  very  foundations  of  our  democracy  have  been 
violently  shaken  by  this  problem.  No  one  knows 
what  aggravated  forms  the  Negro  problem  may  yet 
take.  It  concerns  not  only  questions  of  political 
and  economic  justice  in  the  dealings  of  the  white 
and  Negro  races,  but  questions  of  sex  relations  and 


100    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

of  marriage.  The  tensity  of  American  feeling  on 
these  matters  is  due  to  the  facts  of  slavery  and  the 
Civil  War,  both  of  which  have  had  disastrous  effects 
on  both  races. 

Americans  look  with  grave  apprehensions,  there- 
fore, on  the  advent  of  another  great  race  problem 
through  the  entrance  into  our  land  of  yet  other 
races  so  different  from  us  as  are  Asiatics.  Responsi- 
ble Americans  clearly  recognize  that  the  difficulty 
is  due  in  no  small  part  to  Americans  themselves. 
Fair  and  friendly  treatment  has  not  thus  far  been 
given  to  Asiatics.  Will  our  people  be  persuaded  to 
give  it  in  the  future?  This  unfair  treatment  has 
been  part  cause  no  doubt  of  their  feelings  and  atti- 
tude toward  us  and  has  promoted  the  formation  of 
their  own  separate  communities.  Such  separate 
communities,  however,  accentuate  the  difficulty  of  se- 
curing right  American  treatment.  A  serious  "  vicious 
circle"  is  developing. 

As  time  goes  on  will  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  now 
here  become  really  and  thoroughly  assimilated  to 
American  life?  Will  their  children  and  grandchil- 
dren really  lose  their  race  consciousness  as  Japa- 
nese and  Chinese  and  become  genuine  Americans? 
This  is  what  has  taken  place  in  regard  to  the  vast 
majority  of  the  children  and  grandchildren  of  Brit- 
ish, French,  Germans,  Italians,  Scandinavians,  and 
Slavs,  and  of  all  the  other  peoples  of  Europe  that 
have  come  hither.    They  are,  on  the  whole,  so  much 


RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES  OF  NATIONS       101 

alike  in  appearance  that  the  first  generation  born 
and  reared  in  America  is  completely  American  in 
language,  ideas,  habits,  and  appearance.  There  is 
practically  nothing  that  necessarily  and  permanently 
characterizes  their  race  origin  and  sets  them  off  in  a 
distinct  race  group.  Race  or  national  conscious- 
ness vanishes  and  intermarriage  takes  place,  oblit- 
erating still  further  the  sHght  marks  of  differentia- 
tion. 

Can  this  take  place  with  Japanese,  Chinese,  or 
Hindu  populations  admitted  to  this  country  ?  This 
is  the  question  that  conscientious  and  patriotic 
Americans  look  upon  with  grave  apprehension.  If 
from  generation  to  generation  there  persist  definite 
race  characteristics  of  skin  and  hair  and  eyes,  will 
not  race  consciousness  be  also  maintained  on  each 
side  ?  And  in  political  affairs,  will  not  each  distinct 
race  group  hang  together,  each  working  for  its  own 
interests? 

Some  Americans  hold  the  most  definite  and  fixed 
convictions  on  these  matters.  Many  are  filled  with 
serious  doubts.  These  convictions,  apprehensions, 
and  doubts  they  insist  are  not  the  product  of  race 
arrogance,  pride,  or  prejudice,  but  rest  upon  observa- 
tion of  the  history,  past  and  present,  of  the  ways  in 
which  race  groups  actually  work.  The  relations  of 
whites  and  Negroes,  of  Irish,  German,  and  Hebrew 
groups  already  formed  in  certain  sections  of  America, 
illustrate  what  they  hold  would  happen  in  regard  to 


102    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

other  peoples  and  races  were  they  admitted  in  large 
numbers. 

Moreover,  Japanese  in  Hawaii  and  also  in  Cali- 
fornia they  urge  have  already  manifested  tendencies 
along  these  separatist  lines.  Buddhist  priests  from 
Japan,  confusing  religion  with  patriotism,  have 
striven  with  more  or  less  success  to  consolidate  their 
peoples  by  schools  and  temples,  and  by  the  obser- 
vance of  Japanese  festivals,  holding  them  thereby  to 
loyalty  to  Japan.  Some  Japanese,  they  point  out, 
regard  themselves  as  colonists,  as  advance-guards  in 
the  expansion  of  their  peoples,  to  remain  forever 
representatives  of  their  land  wherever  they  may  go. 
If  these  immigrants  were  to  be  here  but  for  a  few 
years  and  then  to  return  to  their  native  land,  no 
objections  could  be  raised  to  their  maintenance  of 
their  patriotism.  If,  however,  they  expect  to  stay 
permanently  here,  their  attitude  and  their  plans  are 
intolerable.  Many  Japanese  in  America  already  see 
this  problem  and  are  doing  much  to  develop  in 
members  of  their  race  in  Hawaii  and  California  a 
spirit  of  loyalty  to  America.  They  work,  however, 
with  serious  obstacles  in  the  way. 

At  the  close  of  Chapter  II  we  stated  that  "if  the 
rigid  restriction  of  immigration  from  Japan  and  their 
exclusion  from  the  privileges  of  citizenship  are  really 
right  and  necessary,  these  positions  and  actions  must 
be  based  on  grounds  and  carried  out  by  methods  that 
imply  neither  race  arrogance  nor  race  selfishness." 


RIGHTS  AND  DUTIES  OF  NATIONS       103 

Are  not  the  above  considerations  valid  grounds 
for  establishing  the  rigid  restriction  of  immigration 
from  peoples  so  diverse  from  us  as  are  the  Japa- 
nese, Chinese,  and  Hindus?  Decades  will  be  needed 
for  us  to  see  whether  or  not  the  Japanese  population 
now  here  is  going  to  enter  whole-heartedly  into  our 
life,  losing  itself  as  a  distinct  community  and  race, 
and  become  genuinely  American,  able  to  co-operate 
efficiently  in  this  great  democratic  experiment.  The 
writer  believes  that  they  will  do  their  part  suc- 
cessfully. 

For  the  success,  however,  of  this  experiment  with 
the  Japanese  and  Chinese  already  here,  Americans 
must  of  course  do  their  part.  We  must  remove 
those  political  restrictions  that  inevitably  set  them 
off  as  a  special  class — I  refer  to  the  suffrage. 

Rigid  restriction  of  immigration  and  at  the  same  time 
full  'privileges  of  citizenship  to  those  who  are  admitted 
to  our  land,  and  who  duly  qualify — these  are  the 
conditions  under  which  our  democratic  experiment 
can  go  forward  most  favorably  in  this  day  of  large 
race  migrations.  Such  a  policy  is  not  in  any  degree 
based  on  race  pride  or  selfishness.  It  rests  on  sound 
principles  of  psychology  and  sociology.  It  does 
not  ignore  Japan's  economic  problems  nor  deny 
the  brotherhood  of  the  white  and  yellow  races. 
Rather  it  looks  forward  to  the  intercourse  of  a 
thousand  years  that  lie  before  us  in  our  interna- 
tional and  interracial  life,  and  provides  for  that 


104     DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

slow  but  sound  process  of  mutual  acquaintance  and 
co-operation  that  will  remove  from  American  minds 
the  insidious  thought  that  slanting  eyes  and  a  yel- 
lowish skin  mean  a  slippery  character  and  unbridge- 
able race  differences. 

A  few  decades  of  experience  with  completely 
Americanized  Chinese  and  Japanese  will  show  us 
that  our  suspicions  are  groundless  and  our  fears 
needless.  We  shall  see  with  our  own  eyes  how 
splendid  is  the  manhood  and  womanhood  of  Japa- 
nese and  Chinese  and  other  peoples  who  will  take 
high  rank  in  our  business  circles,  in  our  colleges  and 
universities,  in  our  churches,  and  in  every  walk  of 
life.  But  all  this  can  take  place  only  on  the  condition 
of  rigidly  restricted  immigration  covering  many  dec- 
ades, and  the  granting  at  the  same  time  of  a  political 
status  that  gives  to  such  of  them  as  do  come  to  us  a  fair 
and  favorable  chance. 

We  are  now  ready  to  consider  in  greater  detail 
the  policy  and  the  programme  advocated  in  this 
volume. 


CHAPTER  Vni 

A  POLICY  AND  A  PROGRAMME  FOR  CONSTRUC- 
TIVE IMMIGRATION  LEGISLATION 

For  the  solution  of  the  many  intricate  and  highly- 
difficult  problems  connected  with  our  enormous 
immigration  from  many  lands,  European  and  Asi- 
atic, we  need  a  comprehensive  policy  based  on 
correct  psychological  principles  and  expressed  in  a 
programme  that  includes  many  specific  details. 
This  poHcy  and  programme  should  provide  for: 

1.  The  regulation  of  all  immigration  on  a  common 
principle. 

2.  The  specific  training  of  all  immigrants  for 
citizenship. 

3.  The  giving  of  citizenship  to  all  who  qualify, 
regardless  of  race. 

If  we  are  to  attain  the  best  results  we  should  have 
a  series  of  bills  that  deal  with  all  phases  of  the  immi- 
grant question  in  a  systematic,  comprehensive,  and 
well  co-ordinated  plan. 

Legislation  dealing  with  these  matters  should  be 
controlled  by  the  following  principles: 

1.  The  United  States  should  so  regulate  and, 
where  necessary,  restrict  immigration  as  to  provide 
that  only  so  many  immigrants  may  be  admitted 

105 


106    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

from  any  race  or  people  as  can  be  wholesomely 
Americanized. 

2.  The  number  of  those  who  have  become  Amer- 
icanized from  any  race  or  people  affords  the  best 
basis  of  the  measm*e  for  the  further  immigration  of 
that  people. 

3.  American  standards  of  living  should  be  pro- 
tected from  the  dangerous  economic  competition  of 
immigrants,  whether  from  Europe  or  from  Asia. 

4.  Such  provisions  for  the  care  of  aHens  residing 
among  us  should  be  made  as  will  promote  their 
rapid  and  genuine  Americanization  and  thus  main- 
tain intact  our  democratic  institutions  and  national 
unity. 

5.  The  federal  government  should  be  empowered 
by  Congress  to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of 
aliens. 

6.  All  legislation  dealing  with  immigration  and 
with  resident  aliens  should  be  based  on  justice  and 
good-will  as  well  as  on  economic  and  political  con- 
siderations. 

Important  Specifications 

1.  Regulation  of  the  Rate  of  Immigration. — ^The 
maximum  permissible  annual  immigration  from  any 
people  should  be  a  definite  per  cent  (say  5)  of  those 
from  that  people  who  have  already  become  natural- 
ized citizens  together  with  all  American-born  children 
of  immigrants  of  that  people. 


IMMIGRATION  LEGISLATION  107 

2.  A  Federal  Bureau  for  the  Registration  of  Aliens. — 
A  federal  bureau  for  the  registration  of  aliens  should 
be  estabUshed  and  all  resident  aliens  should  be  re- 
quired to  register  and  to  keep  registered  until 
they  have  qualified  to  become  American  citizens. 
A  registration  fee  ($10  or  perhaps  $5  a  year)  might 
well  be  required  of  all  male  aliens  eighteen  years  of 
age  or  over. 

3.  The  Federal  Distribution  Bureau. — The  Federal 
Bureau  for  the  Distribution  of  Immigrants  should  be 
developed  and  provided  with  increased  funds  for 
larger  and  more  effective  methods. 

4.  A  Federal  Bureau  for  the  Education  of  Aliens. — 
A  federal  bureau  for  the  education  of  aUens  for 
American  citizenship  should  be  established.  While 
this  bureau  should  not  set  up  its  own  schools,  its 
duty  should  be  to  promote  the  establishment  by 
local  bodies  of  suitable  schools  in  needful  locahties 
and  all  registered  aliens  should  be  given  education 
for  citizenship  free  of  cost.  The  bureau  should  be 
provided  with  funds  for  subsidies  to  be  granted  to 
schools  upon  the  fulfilment  of  conditions  prescribed 
by  the  bureau.  The  registration  fee  of  aliens  might 
well  be  reduced  by  one  dollar  ($1)  for  every  exam- 
ination passed. 

5.  Congressional  Legislation  for  the  Adequate  Pro- 
tection of  Aliens. — Congress  should  at  once  enact  a 
law  enabling  the  federal  government  to  exercise 
immediate  jurisdiction  in  any  case  involving  the 


108    DEMOCRACY   AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

protection  of  and  justice  to  aliens.  The  treaties 
place  this  responsibility  on  the  federal  government 
but  no  laws  as  yet  give  it  this  power.  The  bill 
drafted  by  Honorable  William  H.  Taft  and  indorsed 
by  the  American  Bar  Association,  or  some  similar 
bill,  should  be  passed. 

6.  Amendment  of  Naturalization  Laws.  —  The 
standards  of  naturalization  should  be  raised.  Only 
those  applicants  for  naturalization  should  be  re- 
garded as  qualified  who  have  passed  all  the  examina- 
tions of  the  schools  for  citizenship  and  who  have 
maintained  their  registration  without  break  from 
the  time  of  their  admittance  to  America.  Under 
the  above  conditions  and  limitations,  citizenship 
should  be  given  to  all  who  qualify. 

Such  are  the  main  outlines  of  the  proposed  con- 
structive policy  and  programme  for  the  solution  of 
the  entire  immigration  problem,  Asiatic  as  well  as 
European.  For  a  more  adequate  understanding, 
however,  of  this  general  proposal  and  in  order  to 
remove  certain  possible  misapprehensions  and  to 
indicate  how  certain  administrative  difficulties  may 
be  met  we  should  consider: 

A  Few  Additional  Details. — (a)  The  schedule  for 
maximum  immigration  is  to  be  based  for  each  dec- 
ade on  figures  secured  from  the  census.  As  a  rule  no 
change  should  be  made  in  the  schedule  between  the 
census  periods.    With  each  new  census  a  new  sched- 


IMMIGRATION  LEGISLATION  109 

ule  should  be  prepared,  but  it  should  not  go  into  op- 
eration automatically.  Congress  should  reconsider 
the  whole  matter  once  in  ten  years  upon  receiving 
the  figures  based  upon  the  new  census,  and  decide 
either  to  adopt  the  new  schedule  or  some  new  per- 
centage rate,  or  possibly  to  continue  the  same  sched- 
ule for  another  decade.  This  plan  does  not  contem- 
plate automatic,  geometrical  increase  of  immigration, 
either  annual  or  decennial. 

(b)  Provision  should  be  made  for  certain  excepted 
classes.  Government  officials,  travellers,  and  stu- 
dents would,  of  course,  be  admitted  outside  of  the 
fixed  schedule  figures.  Aliens  who  have  already 
resided  in  America  and  taken  out  their  first  papers, 
or  who  have  passed  all  the  required  examinations, 
should  also  doubtless  be  admitted  freely,  regardless 
of  the  schedule.  Women,  and  children  under  four- 
teen years  of  age,  might  also  be  included  among  the 
excepted  classes.  If  thought  important,  unmarried 
women  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over  might  be 
subject  to  the  percentage  rate.  By  providing  for 
such  exceptions  the  drastic  features  of  the  proposed 
plan  would  be  largely,  perhaps  wholly,  relieved. 

(c)  Provision  should  be  made  if  possible  to  pre- 
vent the  congestion  of  a  particular  people  in  a  single 
locality.  Plans  for  real  distribution  should  be  care- 
fully worked  out. 

(d)  Should  the  restriction  required  by  the  five-per- 
cent plan  be  regarded  as  excessively  severe,  the  per- 


110    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

cent  rate  could  be  advanced.  In  any  case  it  seems 
desirable  that  the  five-per-cent  restriction  should  be 
applied  only  to  males  fourteen  years  of  age  and  over, 
and  to  unmarried  women  twenty-one  of  years  age 
and  over. 

(e)  In  order  that  individuals  from  peoples  having 
no  citizens  in  the  United  States  may  not  be  absolutely 
excluded,  provision  might  be  made  for  a  minimum 
permissible  annual  immigration  of,  say,  500;  or  possi- 
bly 1,000  might  be  allowed,  regardless  of  the  per- 
centage rate. 

(/)  Registration,  with  payment  of  the  fee,  might 
well  be  required  only  of  male  aliens  eighteen  years  of 
age  and  over.  Since,  however,  it  is  highly  desir- 
able that  immigrant  women  also  should  learn  the 
English  language,  provision  might  be  made  that  all 
alien  women  should  register  mthout  payment  of  the 
fee  and  be  given  the  privileges  of  education  and  of 
taking  the  examinations  free  of  cost.  This  privilege 
might  extend  over  a  period  of  five  years.  After  pass- 
ing the  examinations  there  should  be  no  further  re- 
quirement for  registration.  If,  however,  after  five 
years  the  examinations  have  not  been  passed,  then 
they  might  well  be  required  to  pay  a  registration  tax 
of  $6  annually,  a  reduction  of  $1  being  allowed  for 
every  examination  passed. 

(g)  In  order  to  meet  special  cases  and  exigencies, 
such  as  religious  or  political  persecutions,  war, 
famine,  or  flood,  provision  might  well  be  made  to 


IMMIGRATION  LEGISLATION  111 

give  special  power  to  the  Commissioner  of  Immi- 
gration in  consultation  with  the  Commissioner  of 
Labor  and  one  or  two  other  specified  high  oflBcials 
to  order  exceptional  treatment. 

Qi)  The  proposed  policy,  if  enacted  into  law, 
would  put  into  the  hands  of  Congress  a  flexible  instru- 
ment for  the  continux)us  and  exact  regulation  of  im- 
migration, adapting  it  from  time  to  time  to  the  eco- 
nomic conditions  of  the  coimtry.  Is  it  not  important 
for  Congress  to  take  complete  and  exact  control  of 
the  situation  while  the  present  lull  is  on  and  be 
able  to  determine  what  the  maximum  immigration 
shall  be  before  we  find  ourselves  overwhelmed  with 
its  magnitude?  If  the  post-bellum  immigration 
should  prove  to  be  small,  a  law  limiting  it  to  figures 
proposed  by  this  plan  would  not  restrict  it. 

(i)  An  objection  to  the  proposed  plan  is  raised  by 
some.  It  is  urged  that  tens  of  thousands  would  suf- 
fer the  hardship  of  deportation  because  of  arrival 
after  the  maximum  limit  has  been  reached.  Such  a 
situation,  however,  could  easily  be  avoided  by  a 
little  care  in  the  matter  of  administration.  Pro- 
vision could  be  made,  for  instance,  that  each  of  the 
transportation  lines  bringing  immigrants  from  any 
particular  land  should  agree  with  the  immigration 
ofl&ce  upon  the  maximum  number  of  immigrants 
that  it  may  bring  to  America  during  the  year,  the 
sum  total  of  these  agreements  being  equal  to  maxi- 
mum permissible  immigration  from  that  particular 


112    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

land.  There  would  then  be  no  danger  of  deporta- 
tion because  of  excessive  immigration.  The  steam- 
ship lines,  moreover,  would  see  to  it  that  their 
immigration  accommodation  would  be  continuously 
occupied  throughout  the  year,  avoiding  thus  a 
rush  during  the  first  two  or  three  months  of  the 
year. 

(/)  A  second  objection  is  raised  by  some,  namely, 
the  difficulty  of  selecting  the  favored  ones  in  those 
countries  where  the  restriction  would  be  severe. 
This  difiiculty,  however,  would  be  completely  ob- 
viated by  the  steamship  companies  themselves. 
Immigrants  would  secure  passage  in  the  order  of 
their  purchase  of  tickets;  first  come,  first  served. 

{k)  In  order  to  alleviate  hardship  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, might  not  immigration  inspection  offices  be  es- 
tabhshed  in  the  principal  ports  of  departure,  and  pro- 
vision be  made  that  all  immigration  from  specified 
regions  should  receive  inspection  at  those  offices 
alone,  such  inspection  to  be  final  ? 

(0  The  most  searching  criticism  of  the  policy  and 
progranmie  here  proposed  deals  with  the  percentage 
principle  itself.  It  is  said  by  critics  to  be  mechan- 
ical and  therefore  artificial.  Moreover,  while  it 
professes  to  be  free  from  race  discrimination,  it 
nevertheless  is  in  fact  strongly  discriminating,  for 
it  seizes  for  example  upon  the  accident  of  a  small 
Japanese  and  Chinese  American-born  citizenship  to 
enforce  an  exceedingly  rigid  restriction  of  immigrants 


IMMIGRATION  LEGISLATION  113 

from  those  lands  while  it  permits  tens  and  even  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  to  come  from  European  lands, 
merely  because  their  large  immigration  took  place 
decades  ago.  The  plan,  therefore,  they  urge,  can- 
not be  satisfactory  to  Japan. 

These  Criticisms  Overlook  Certain  Facts. — The 
plan  takes  Americanization  as  its  foundation  prin- 
ciple of  restriction.  Let  the  critic  face  this  question. 
Is  it,  or  is  it  not,  true  that  Americanization  of  new- 
comers from  any  particular  land  depends  in  some 
close  way  upon  the  degree  of  Americanization  of  those 
from  that  land  who  are  already  here?  Does  a  new 
Italian  or  Japanese  immigrant  become  an  American 
in  spirit  and  in  language  equally  easily  and  whole- 
somely whether  the  Italian  or  Japanese  group  with 
which  he  is  in  daily  contact  is  well  Americanized,  or 
hardly  Americanized  at  all?  Whether  they  speak 
and  read  English  easily  and  are  voting  citizens,  or 
whether  they  speak  English  only  smatteringly,  read 
only  their  own  foreign-language  papers,  and  have 
no  voting  power  or  political  interests?  If  the  new- 
comers become  Americanized  equally  easily  and 
rapidly  under  either  set  of  conditions,  then  the  per- 
centage principle  of  limitation  is  artificial  and 
mechanical;  otherwise  it  is  sociological  and  psycho- 
logical. The  writer  holds  that  the  restricting  of 
newcomers  from  any  people  to  some  small  percent- 
age of  those  of  that  people  who  have  already  become 
America^n  citizens  is  a  fundamental  psychological 


114    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

and  sociological  principle,  and  that  the  proposal 
therefore  is  neither  mechanical  nor  artificial. 

The  admission  of  larger  numbers  than  can  be 
easily  Americanized  creates  and  maintains  difficul- 
ties of  many  kinds — economic,  political,  and  racial. 
The  welfare  of  the  immigrants  themselves  and  of  the 
American  people  and  the  abiding  success  of  our 
democratic  institutions  depend  upon  the  proper 
and  rapid  Americanization  of  all  who  settle  perma- 
nently in  our  land. 

Another  fact  to  be  kept  in  mind  is  that  we  must 
start  with  the  present  actual  situation.  We  cannot 
ignore  or  go  back  on  history.  We  can  no  more  rec- 
tify the  inequalities  of  past  immigration — ^Japanese 
or  Italian  as  compared  with  English,  German,  and 
Scandinavian — than  we  can  rectify  the  accident  of 
an  unfortunate  grandfather.  We  must  start  our  new 
policy  and  programme  with  the  situation  as  it  is  to- 
day. We  should  insist  that  immigration  from  any 
land  shall  not  be  larger  than  that  which  we  can 
Americanize.  This  requires  the  admission  of  immi- 
grants from  different  lands  in  different  numbers,  hut 
upon  the  same  principle.  This  is  not  "race  discrim- 
ination" in  the  usual  sense,  and  in  the  sense  to  which 
Japan  raises  objection. 

The  assertion  that  Japanese  will  resent  this  pro- 
posal is  an  assumption  based  on  ignorance.  Such 
a  critic  fails  to  understand  the  essence  of  Japan's 
criticism  of  our  present  policies.    Japan  is  not  de- 


IMMIGRATION  LEGISLATION  115 

manding  opportunity  for  free  immigration.  But 
she  does  earnestly  ask  for  removal  of  the  humiliation 
of  differential  treatment  on  the  mere  ground  of  race. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Japanese  who  understand  the 
foregoing  proposals  do  not  resent  them.  If  all 
immigration  to  America  is  restricted  on  the  same 
principle,  that  which  they  resent  is  removed,  and 
they  are  satisfied.  Baron  Kato,  former  minister 
of  foreign  affairs,  at  a  dinner  of  welcome  (February 
10,  1915)  to  Professor  Shailer  Mathews  and  the 
writer,  who  went  to  Japan  as  the  Christian  Embassy 
of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America  to  the  churches  of  Japan,  said:  "We 
would  not  mind  disabilities  if  they  were  equally 
applicable  to  all  nations.  .  .  .  Questions  like  this 
require  time  to  settle.  ...  At  the  same  time  we 
cannot  rest  satisfied  until  this  question  is  finally  and 
properly  settled." 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  note  that  as  the  decades 
pass,  if  those  admitted  from  any  specified  land  and 
their  children  chose  to  become  American  citizens, 
the  permissible  inmiigration  from  that  particular 
land  will  naturally  increase  decade  by  decade.  The 
newcomers,  however,  being  always  kept  at  a  small 
percentage  of  those  already  Americanized,  the  ob- 
jections to  and  dangers  from  increasing  immigration 
from  that  land  will  be  held  at  a  minimum. 

Would  not  the  above  proposals  for  a  constructive 
immigration    policy    and    programme    co-ordinate, 


116    DEMOCRACY   AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

systematize,  and  rationalize  our  entire  procedure  in 
dealing  with  immigration,  and  solve  in  a  fundamental 
way  its  most  perplexing  difficulties  ?  Such  a  policy 
would  protect  American  labor  from  danger  of  sud- 
den and  excessive  immigration  from  any  land.  It 
would  promote  the  wholesome  and  rapid  assimila- 
tion of  all  newcomers.  It  would  regulate  the  rate 
of  the  coming  of  immigrants  from  any  land  by  the 
proven  capacity  for  Americanization  of  those  from 
that  land  already  here.  It  would  keep  the  new- 
comers of  each  people  always  a  minority  of  its  Amer- 
icanized citizens.  It  would  be  free  from  every  trace 
of  differential  race  treatment.  Our  relations  with 
Japan  and  China  would  thus  be  right. 

Such  a  policy,  therefore,  giving  to  every  people  the 
"most  favored  nation  treatment,"  would  maintain  and 
deepen  our  international  friendship  on  every  side. 

Criticism  of  and  suggestions  for  improving  this 
plan  are  invited. 

Before  making  up  his  mind  as  to  the  actual  prac- 
ticability of  the  policy  and  programme  described 
above,  the  student  will  inevitably  inquire  as  to  its 
statistical  results.  Whether  the  five-per-cent  rate  is 
desirable  will  depend  upon  the  actual  immigration 
which  it  would  allow.  We  therefore  add  as  an  appen- 
dix to  this  chapter  tables  and  explanations  showing 
just  how  a  five-per-cent  immigration  law  would  have 
affected  immigration  had  it  been  in  force  during  the 
five  years  between  1911  and  1915. 


IMMIGRATION  LEGISLATION 


117 


APPENDIX   TO   CHAPTER   VIII 


TABLES  SHOWING  HOW  THE  FIVE  PER  CENT  RESTRIC- 
TION PROPOSAL  WOULD  HAVE  AFFECTED  IMMI- 
GRATION FROM  JAPAN,  CHINA,  AND  ITALY  FOR 
EACH  OF  THE  FIVE  YEARS  INDICATED 


TABLE    I 

TABLE    II 

Aliens    Actually    Admitted    for   the 

The  Proposed 

Years     Indicated;     cf.    Annual    Re- 

Five-Per-Cent 

ports  of  Immigration  Bureau 

Standard 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Maxi- 

mum 

Per- 

missi- 

Males 

ble 

who 

Women 

Men 

Annual 

would 

Chil- 

14 

14 

Immi- 

have 

Non- 

dren 

years 

years 

gration 

been 

immi- 

Immi- 

under 

and 

and 

of 

ex- 

grants 

grants 

14 

over 

over 

Males 

cluded 

JAPANESE: 

1911 

1,915 

4,575 

300 

3,011 

1,264 

1.220 

44 

1912 

2,574 

6,172 

328 

4,123 

1,721 

1.220 

501 

1913 

3,370 

8,302 

437 

4,988 

2.877 

1.220 

1.657 

1914 

4,075 

8,941 

438 

5,502 

3,001 

1,220 

1.781 

1915 

3,628 

8,609 

487 

4,693 

3,429 

1.220 

2.209 

15,562 

36,599 

1,990 

22,317 

12,292 

6.100 

6.192 

CHINESE: 

1911 

4,350 

1,307 

112 

165 

1,030 

1.106 

.... 

1912 

3,883 

1,608 

207 

201 

1,200 

1.106 

94 

1913 

1,465 

2,022 

189 

303 

1,530 

1.106 

424 

1914 

1,218 

2,354 

144 

276 

1,934 

1.106 

828 

1915 

1,174 

2.469 

118 

267 

2.084 

1.106 

978 

12,090 

9,760 

770 

1,212 

7.778 

5,530 

2.324 

ITALIANS: 

1911 

23,410 

189,950 

24,071 

39,761 

126,118 

45.768 

80,350 

1912 

27,650 

162,273 

23,114 

38,262 

100,867 

45,768 

55,099 

1913 

44,372 

274.147 

31,550 

50,263 

192,334 

45,768  146.566 

1914 

27,320 

296,414 

37,711 

60,695 

198.008 

45.768  152.240 

1915 

9.452 

57.217 

13,272 

19,589 

24,356 

45.76SJ 

132.204 

980,00lj  129.718 

208,600 

641.683  228.840  434.255 

118    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 


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IMMIGRATION  LEGISLATION 


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120    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

The  foregoing  statistical  tables  give  the  actual  immigra- 
tion of  the  five  years  ending  June  30,  1915,  so  classified  as 
to  show  what  the  effect  upon  that  immigration  would  have 
been  if  the  proposed  five-per-cent  standard  for  its  limitation 
had  been  in  force.  The  basal  figures  here  given  have  been 
especially  prepared  for  the  writer  by  the  statistician  of  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Immigration. 

In  classifying  aliens  the  Immigration  Bureau  distinguishes 
between  immigrants  (who  come  for  permanent  residence 
here)  and  non-immigrants  (who  come  for  a  transient  stay). 
The  five-per-cent  restriction  proposal  as  worked  out  in  these 
statistics  does  not  limit  the  entering  of  non-immigrants,  of 
children,  or  of  women.  It  affects  only  males  fourteen  years 
of  age  and  over. 

Column  6  gives  the  standards  for  the  maximum  permissible 
annual  immigration  of  males  from  the  various  races  and 
peoples  according  to  the  five-per-cent  restriction  policy  ad- 
vocated in  this  volume.  This  column  is  derived  from  the 
census  of  1910;  the  figure  for  each  people  is  five  per  cent  of 
the  American-born  children  of  foreign  parents  of  that  people 
plus  the  number  of  those  from  that  same  people  who  have 
become  naturalized  citizens.  This  last  item  (the  naturalized 
citizens)  was  secured  "by  mathematical  calculations  based 
upon  Tables  XIII  and  XXXIII,  pp.  975  and  1082,  vol.  I, 
of  the  Census  Population  Report  for  1910."  Subtracting 
the  figures  of  column  6  from  those  of  column  5  (the  average 
annual  number  of  males  actually  admitted)  we  secure 
column  7,  showing  the  annual  average  number  of  males  who 
would  have  been  excluded  had  the  five-per-cent  limitation 
principle  been  in  force. 

The  number  of  immigrant  children  admitted  during 
the  five  years  ending  June  30,  1915,  may  be  secured  by 
subtracting  the  sum  of  the  figures  given  in  Table  I, 
columns  3  and  4,  from  the  corresponding  figures  given  in 
column  2. 

In  order  to  show  in  more  detail  the  working  of  the  five- 


IMMIGRATION    LEGISLATION  121 

per-cent  limitation  plan,  Tables  III  and  IV  have  been  added, 
dealing  with  Japan,  China,  and  Italy  for  each  year  from  1911 
to  1915. 

Points  to  Notice 

1.  The  proposals  of  this  chapter  would  have  imposed  more 
rigid  restriction  not  only  upon  Japanese  but  also  upon  Chi- 
nese than  is  imposed  by  the  present  laws  and  arrangements, 

2.  The  restriction  upon  Italians  is  particulariy  striking. 
But  note  the  large  disparity  between  Italian  male  and 
female  immigrants  (Table  III,  columns  4  and  5). 

3.  The  plan  here  proposed  if  in  force  would  have  imposed 
no  restriction  upon  Hebrew  immigration. 

4.  The  average  immigration  from  Europe  for  the  past 
five  years  was,  of  course,  seriously  disturbed  by  the  striking 
decrease  for  1915  because  of  the  war.  Allowance  must  be 
made  for  this  factor. 

5.  The  restriction  of  the  immigration  of  men  will,  of  course, 
sooner  or  later  affect  that  of  women  and  children. 

6.  In  column  6  the  figure  1,000  should  be  substituted  in 
each  place  where  the  five-per-cent  rate  would  allow  an  im- 
migration less  than  this  amount,  in  harmony  with  the  pro- 
posal of  paragraph  (c),  page  110. 

7.  The  total  annual  average  immigration  of  males  from 
those  countries  whose  actual  immigration  was  less  than  their 
permissible  maximum  amounted  to  about  170,000,  while  the 
total  permissible  annual  immigration  of  males  from  those 
countries  that  exceeded  their  permissible  maximum  amounted 
to  about  136,000.  If  the  immigration  of  the  past  five  years 
had  been  regulated  by  the  policy  set  forth  in  this  pamphlet, 
the  average  immigration  of  males  from  all  countries  would 
have  been  about  324,000  annually,  instead  of  the  average  of 
518,000  that  actually  were  admitted. 


CHAPTER  IX 
CRITICISMS  CRITICISED 

When  the  writer  appeared,  early  in  1914,  before 
the  Senate  Committee  on  Immigration  and  made  the 
statement  that  the  American-Japanese  problem 
was  but  one  phase  of  a  much  larger  American- 
Asiatic  problem,  and  that  in  meeting  this  whole 
problem  it  would  be  necessary  ultimately  to  rescind 
the  present  Chinese  legislation  and  to  substitute 
therefor  legislation  more  in  harmony  with  the 
fundamental  principles  of  our  government  and  of 
good-neighborliness  with  Asia,  one  of  the  senators 
interrupted  the  address  with  the  remark:  "Mr. 
Gulick,  you  may  as  well  save  your  breath  and  our 
time.  America  has  made  up  its  mind  as  to  what  it 
is  going  to  do  with  the  Asiatic,  and  there  is  not  a 
particle  of  use  in  your  attempting  to  budge  it." 

This  remark  was  made  without  waiting  to  hear 
what  substitute  legislation  would  be  more  in  har- 
mony with  good-neighborliness  and  the  fundamental 
principles  of  our  government.  And  so  it  usually 
is.  The  moment  a  proposal  is  made  to  deal  with 
Asiatics  on  the  basis  of  equality  with  the  treatment 
accorded  to  other  peoples,  many  immediately  jump 
to  the  conclusion  that  free  immigration  and  the  com- 
plete inundation  of  America  by  Asiatics  is  the  object 

122 


CRITICISMS  CRITICISED  123 

of  the  proposal.  The  critic  begins  at  once  to  de- 
pict the  millions  that  would  come  to  us,  their  crowd- 
ing into  all  sorts  of  occupations,  their  long  hours  of 
work,  their  low  and  degraded  scale  of  life,  and  their 
impossible  wages. 

The  ultimate  consequences  are  pictured  in  lurid 
colors.  Asiatics,  they  insist,  could  not  possibly  take 
real  part  in  maintaining  a  democracy,  for  they  be- 
lieve in  despotism,  not  only  in  the  government,  but 
also  in  the  family;  democratic  principles  are  in- 
trinsically unacceptable  to  them  and  even  unintelli- 
gible. Those  who  present  these  assertions  commonly 
claim  that  an  unbridgeable  chasm  separates  the 
Caucasian  from  the  Asiatic  mind.  They  glibly 
quote  the  lines  from  Kipling: 

"  Oh,  East  is  East  and  West  is  West, 
And  never  the  twain  shall  meet, 
Till  earth  and  sky  stand  presently 
At  God's  great  judgment  seat." 

The  proposals  of  this  volume,  however,  as  has  al- 
ready been  made  clear,  not  only  do  not  provide  for 
free  immigration  of  Asiatics  to  the  United  States, 
but  rather,  on  the  contrary,  provide  for  very  rigid 
restriction  of  such  immigration.  The  proposed  re- 
striction is  identical  in  principle  with  that  which 
the  writer  contends  should  be  applied  to  every  peo- 
ple, thus  providing  for  the  fulfilment  of  our  treaty 
pledges  to  "give  most  favored  nation  treatment"; 


124    DEMOCRACY   AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

but  the  number  of  Asiatics  that  would  be  admitted 
for  the  present  and  for  several  decades  to  come- 
would  be  very  small,  indeed,  especially  when  com- 
pared with  those  admissible  from  the  principal  peo- 
ples of  Europe.  The  numbers  admissible  from  Asia, 
as  also  from  every  land,  would  each  year  be  only  a 
small  per  cent  of  those  from  their  respective  peoples 
who  had  already  become  American  citizens.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  provision,  the  newcomers  from  any 
people  would  always  be  only  a  small  minority  of 
those  who  have  become  Americanized.  The  dan- 
gers, therefore,  instinctively  feared  from  the  presence 
of  large  alien  or  un-Americanized  people  in  our 
midst  would  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Let  it  be  clearly  understood,  then,  that  the  pro- 
posals of  this  volume  have  nothing  to  do  with  free 
Asiatic  immigration.  What  we  do  urge  with  all  pos- 
sible emphasis  is  that  those  whom  we  do  admit, 
and  who  are  to  stay  here  permanently,  whatever 
their  race  may  be,  should  be  urged  and  helped  to 
learn  our  language  and  our  ways  and  to  enter  thus  into 
wholesome  relations  with  our  government  and  our  people. 

That,  however,  which  causes  deepest  solicitude 
on  the  part  of  many  when  this  Asiatic  problem  is 
brought  forward  is  the  intermarriage  of  Americans 
and  Asiatics. 

The  problems  raised  by  such  intermarriages  are 
so  important  that  they  should  be  made,  we  contend, 
the  subject  of  scientific  investigation.     A  competent 


CRITICISMS  CRITICISED  125 

commission  of  experts  in  biology,  ethnology,  psy- 
chology, sociology,  and  morals  should  speedily  be 
appointed  to  study  the  whole  question  with  the  ut- 
most thoroughness. 

But  the  granting  of  privileges  of  citizenship  to  all 
who  qualify,  regardless  of  race,  has  no  relation  whatever 
to  the  intermarriage  of  the  races.  This  remains  ex- 
actly the  same  whether  citizenship  is  granted  or  is 
not  granted. 

An  Asiatic  who  has  secured  American  citizenship 
does  not  on  that  account  have  the  right  to  compel 
a  woman  to  marry  him.  His  ability  in  winning 
her  affection,  moreover,  does  not  depend  in  any 
degree  whatever  upon  his  possession  of  citizenship, 
nor  does  his  lack  of  citizenship  make  him  less  able 
in  presenting  his  charms  or  in  .winning  her  affection. 
The  man's  capacity  in  these  matters  depends  upon 
his  personal  traits,  not  upon  his  political  status. 
The  question  of  intermarriage  remains  the  same, 
therefore,  whether  we  grant  citizenship  or  withhold 
it. 

The  probability  of  intermarriage  between  Asi- 
atics and  whites  is  slight  in  the  case  of  alien  men 
and  American  women.  The  intermarriage  of  Amer- 
ican-born and  American-educated  children  of  Asi- 
atics of  either  sex  with  Americans  of  long  American 
ancestry  of  the  opposite  sex  is,  however,  not  im- 
probable. But  this  probability  is  not  in  any  way 
lessened   or   increased  by  withholding  or  by  giv- 


126    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

ing  privileges  of  citizenship  to  aliens  who  qualify. 
There  is  no  relation  whatsoever  between  these  two 
things.  American-bom  children  are  citizens,  what- 
ever their  race.  The  withholding  of  citizenship 
from  Asiatic  parents  will  not  have  the  slightest 
effect  upon  the  chance  that  their  American-born 
boys  and  girls  may  intermarry  with  girls  and  boys 
of  long  American  ancestry,  if  they  are  mutually 
attractive. 

The  objection,  therefore,  to  giving  citizenship  to 
all  who  qualify,  regardless  of  race,  on  the  ground 
that  it  will  break  down  the  barriers  to  race  inter- 
marriage, is  absolutely  illogical,  due  to  an  amazing 
confusion  of  thought. 

The  argument  that  a  people,  like  a  family,  has  a 
right  to  maintain  the  privacy  of  its  home,  also  misses 
the  point.  It  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the 
policy  urged  in  this  volume.  The  real  question  is, 
what  shall  we  do  with  those  whom  we  have  already 
admitted  to  our  home? 

If  we  grant  various  privileges  to  Europeans  of 
Asiatic  extraction,  to  Hungarians  and  Finns,  to 
almost  pure  Tartars  classed  as  Slavs,  to  Turks, 
Syrians,  to  Hottentots,  Zulus,  Kaffirs,  and  to  all 
the  races  of  Africa,  of  Mexico,  and  of  South  America, 
is  it  not  somewhat  arbitrary  to  say  to  Chinese  and 
Japanese  whom  we  have  admitted  that  we  will  not 
give  them  the  same  privileges,  no  matter  how  well 
they  may  personally  qualify  for  them  ? 


CRITICISMS  CRITICISED  127 

This  objection  in  reality  concerns  the  question  of 
immigration  and  not  at  all  that  of  citizenship  or  of 
intermarriage.  We  insist  with  all  possible  emphasis 
that  the  proposal  to  grant  citizenship  has  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  it.  We  hold  that  so  far  as 
America  does  admit  aliens  to  our  national  home  we 
should  treat  them  aU  alike,  as  our  guests  and  friends. 

The  argument  that  we  have  one  great  and  insolu- 
ble race  problem  on  our  hands  already  and  that, 
therefore,  we  should  avoid  taking  on  another,  is 
also  entirely  aside  from  the  point.  The  question  is 
not  whether  we  are  going  to  let  Japanese  and  Chi- 
nese into  our  land,  but  whether  we  are  going  to  give 
the  square  and  friendly  deal  to  those  whom  we  have 
admitted  and  will  continue  to  admit. 

The  argument  in  question  ignores  the  only  method 
that  can  possibly  solve  the  race  problem  which  is 
already  upon  us. 

First,  we  must  give  complete  political  equality  to 
qualified  men  of  every  race  who  are  here  and  here  to 
stay. 

Second,  we  must  provide  that  men  of  every  race 
who  vote  shall  conform  to  the  established  standard 
of  qualifications  for  citizenship. 

All  candidates  for  the  suffrage,  whether  foreign- 
born  or  native-born,  white  or  Negro,  Mexican  or 
Persian,  Armenian,  Turkish,  Chinese,  or  Japanese, 
should  be  required  to  qualify  on  the  basis  of  fairly 
high  standards.    The  ignorant  should,  of  course, 


128    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

not  have  the  suffrage,  whether  that  ignorance  be 
ignorance  of  the  EngHsh  language  or  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  and  practices,  history  and  ideals  of 
our  government.  If  such  standards  are  required 
of  all  who  seek  the  suffrage,  no  Asiatic  race  question 
will  develop. 

The  giving  of  citizenship  privileges  to  all  who  qualify 
will  not  only  not  produce  a  second  race  question  hut 
it  is  the  one  all-essential  method  for  preventing  its 
rise. 

If,  as  some  critics  of  these  proposals  seem  to  de- 
sire, we  continue  to  deal  with  the  Asiatic  question 
as  it  now  stands,  by  methods  of  arbitrary  political 
and  racial  discrimination  and  of  economic  disad- 
vantage, an  increasingly  difficult  Asiatic  problem 
cannot  fail  to  develop.  In  fact,  by  the  very  laws 
of  human  psychology,  the  methods  they  propose 
would  make  certain  the  very  difficulties  they  wish  to 
avoid. 

The  alleged  unbridgeable  chasm  between  the  East 
and  the  West  is  in  fact  non-existent.  The  minds 
and  hearts  of  men  are  essentially  the  same,  what- 
ever the  race.  In  spite  of  all  their  admitted  differ- 
ences, the  East  and  the  West  have  far  more  in 
common  than  appears  to  the  casual  traveller  and 
the  superficial  student.  Those  who  quote  KipHng 
are  hardly  fair  to  him  when  they  stop  with  the  Hnes 
that  correspond  to  their  a  priori  opinions  and  fail 
to  quote  the  lines  which  controvert  them.    Im- 


CRITICISMS  CRITICISED  129 

mediately  following  the  four  lines  quoted  above, 
Kipling  adds: 

"  But  there  is  neither  East  nor  West, 
Border  nor  Breed  nor  Birth, 
When  two  strong  men  stand  face  to  face, 

Though  they  come  from  the  ends  of  the  Earth." 


PART  II 
STATISTICAL 


SOME  DEFINITIONS 

The  preceding  nine  chapters  have  been  limited 
to  the  discussion  of  the  poHtical  facts  and  consider- 
ations bearing  upon  the  needed  new  policy  for  deal- 
ing with  our  Oriental  populations.  Careful  students 
of  these  questions,  however,  will  desire  to  know  with 
some  detail  all  available  facts.  The  following  chap- 
ters present  with  as  much  condensation  as  possible  a 
large  amount  of  statistical  information.  It  is  based 
on  a  careful  compilation  of  statistics  published  bj'" 
the  government  in  regard  to  Chinese  and  Japanese. 
The  writer  had  hoped  to  publish  his  compilations 
as  an  Appendix  to  this  volume.  He  has  been  com- 
pelled, however,  to  satisfy  himself  with  the  sum- 
maries here  presented. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  be  able  thoroughly 
to  appreciate  the  statistics  presented  in  these  chap- 
ters, let  him  keep  in  mind  the  following  important 
definitions  and  distinctions. 

1.  ^'Immigrants"  are  those  who  enter  the  United 
States  expecting  to  remain  permanently,  while 
'^ non-immigrants"  are  those  who  enter  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  remaining  only  temporarily. 

2.  "Emigrants"  are  those  who  leave  with  no  ex- 
pectation of  returning,  while  those  who  leave  for 

133 


134    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

only  a  temporary  absence  are  termed  "non-emi- 
grants." 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that  those  who  enter  as 
"immigrants"  leave  as  "emigrants."  The  natural 
expectations  would  in  fact  be  that  those  who  enter 
as  immigrants,  if  they  leave  would  do  so  as  non- 
emigrants  while  those  who  enter  as  "non-immi- 
grants" would  leave  as  "emigrants."  But,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  even  this  is  not  a  safe  assumption, 
for  many  who  come  for  only  a  transient  stay,  leave 
only  for  a  temporary  absence.  There  is,  in  truth, 
no  relation  whatever  between  immigrants  and  emi- 
grants, non-immigrants  and  non-emigrants. 

3.  Close  attention  must  be  given  to  the  distinc- 
tion between  race  and  country.  Not  every  immi- 
grant who  comes  from  Germany  is  a  German,  nor 
from  Japan  a  Japanese.  The  statistics  of  these 
chapters  deal  in  every  case  with  Japanese  and  Chi- 
nese by  race.  This  fact  must  be  carefully  watched 
by  those  who  attempt  to  verify  the  figures  here 
given,  by  comparing  them  with  the  government 
reports. 

4.  The  tables  on  which  we  base  our  statements 
have  been  compiled  from  the  successive  reports  of 
the  Immigration  Bureau.  Those  reports  for  the  ear- 
lier periods  are  exceedingly  meagre.  As  the  decades 
have  passed,  attention  has  been  given  to  new  points 
and  fresh  classifications  have  been  adopted.  Each 
table  here  presented  begins  with  the  date  when  the 


SOME  DEFINITIONS  135 

classification  went  into  effect.  Statistics  concerning 
immigrants  are  far  more  complete  than  those  con- 
cerning non-irmnigrantS;  and  of  emigrants  than  of 
non-emigrants,  strange  to  say. 

In  view  of  the  above  facts  the  reader  is  requested 
to  note  with  care  the  exact  title  of  each  table. 

5.  Chinese  exclusion  laws  went  into  effect  in  1882. 
Since  their  full  effect  was  not  at  once  operative,  how- 
ever, Chinese  immigration  is  divided  into  two  peri- 
ods, the  first  period  ending  with  1883  and  the  second 
beginning  with  1884. 

6.  Similarly  with  regard  to  the  Japanese.  The 
"gentlemen's  agreement"  though  entered  upon  in 
December,  1907,  first  disclosed  its  full  effect  in  the 
year  ending  June  30,  1909;  this  is  accordingly  the 
beginning  of  the  new  period  of  Japanese  immigra- 
tion, while  1908  marks  the  end  of  the  old  period. 

7.  The  Hawaiian  Islands  became  a  part  of  the 
United  States  in  1898.  The  census  of  1900  distin- 
guished between  Hawaii  and  Continental  United 
States.  The  statistics  of  the  Bureau  of  Immigra- 
tion until  1899  exclude  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and 
beginning  with  1900  include  those  islands.  This  fact 
introduces  an  element  of  confusion,  unless  the  stu- 
dent is  on  a  sharp  lookout. 

In  reading  the  following  chapters  let  us  remember 
that  the  United  States  include  Hawaii.  All  tables, 
therefore,  which  give  statistics  for  the  "United 
States"  of  course  include  the  figures  from  the  Terri- 


136    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

tory  of  Hawaii;  just  as  they  do  those  from  the  State 
of  New  York.  When  the  two  are  to  be  distinguished 
and  treated  separately  the  terms  used  are  "Conti- 
nental United  States"  and  "Hawaii." 


CHAPTER  X 
CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Few  Americans  realize  that  we  have  a  permanent 
Oriental  population  in  om'  midst.  It  is  nevertheless 
a  fact.  And  it  is  a  fact  of  much  importance.  For 
if  we  are  going  to  avoid  "another  race  problem,"  it 
is  of  the  highest  importance  that  we  know  the  exact 
facts  in  regard  to  this  population  and  that  we  adopt 
suitable  policies  in  dealing  with  it. 

Although  Chinese  and  Japanese  are  both  Oriental, 
their  differences  are  so  important  that  they  should 
be  dealt  with  separately.  We  confine  our  study  in 
this  chapter  to  the  Chinese. 

The  first  year  of  considerable  Chinese  immigra- 
tion was  1854  when  13,100  persons  were  admitted 
from  China.  The  preceding  year  only  42  had  ar- 
rived, and  previous  to  1853  only  46  Chinese  all  told 
are  reported  as  having  come  to  the  United  States. 
From  1854  until  1883,  when  the  law  regulating  Chi- 
nese labor  immigration  became  effective,  the  ar- 
rivals varied  year  by  year  from  3,000  or  4,000  to 
nearly  40,000  in  1882. 

Previous  to  1857,  the  statistics  are  not  given  by 
race.    If,  however,  we  assume  that  all  who  came  as 

137 


138    DEMOCRACY   AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

immigrants  from  China  prior  to  that  date  were 
Chinese  we  get  the  following  results: 

Before  1853 46 

1853-1883 290,342 

1884-1916  (immigrants) 57,060 

1884-1916  (non-immigrants) 45,805 » 

Total 393,253 

The  records  of  departures  from  the  United  States 
are  far  less  complete  than  those  of  arrivals.  Until 
1883  only  departures  from  San  Francisco  are  avail- 
able. Records  of  departures  from  the  entire  coun- 
try begin  in  1884,  but  strange  to  say  the  figures  for 
the  years  1896  to  1907  seem  not  to  have  been  com- 
piled. The  total  departures  from  San  Francisco 
from  1857  to  1883  amounted  to  146,751,  while  those 
from  the  entire  country  from  1884  to  1916  (twelve 
years  lacking)  amounted  to  154,135.  If  we  make 
the  altogether  probable  assumption  that  the  average 
for  those  twelve  years  was  4,000  annually,  the  de- 
partures for  the  period  since  Chinese  exclusion 
went  into  effect  would  amount  to  about  190,000, 
making  a  total  departure  since  1857  of  about  336,000. 
If  the  total  arrivals  amounted  to  some  395,000  and 
the  total  departures  to  336,000,  the  Chinese  in  the 
United  States  in  1916  should  be  about  60,000. 
This  calculation,  however,  makes  no  allowance  for 
deaths  or  births,  nor  for  departures  from  other  ports 

*  Of  this  sum,  6,000  are  estimated  for  the  ten  years,  1896-1905,  for 
which  statistics  are  lacking. 


CHART  SHOWING  INCREASE  AND  DECREASE  OF 
CHINESE  AND  JAPANESE  ADMITTED  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES 


1850 

1855 

1860 

1865 

1870 

1875 

1880 

1885 

1890 

1895  1900 

905   1910 

1915 

40,000 

39,000 
38,000 
37,000 
36,000 

,, 

35,000 

? 

34,000 
33,000 
32,000 
31,000 

1 

• 

!! 

, 

30,000 

11 

29,000 
28.000 
27,000 
26,000 

I) 

i; 

ii 

1 1 

25,000 

Ti 

24,000 
23,000 
22,000 
21,000 

ii 

!i 

1  ■ 

!  i 

20,000 

ti 

19,000 
18,000 
17,000 
16,000 

\ 

1  I 

;  1 

j\; 

;  1 

I* 

\ 

;  1 

15,000 

;  ! 

14,000 
13,000 
12,000 
11,000 

;  ! 

,". 

i    ! 

I 

/ 

;  ! 

1 

i 

I 

; 

1  1 

10,000 

ii 

i  ? 

S 

;    1 

9,000 
8,000 
7,000 
6,000 

;; 

1 

1    1 

i! 

«'.|    ! 

/^ 

r 

!' 

J 

/ 

! 

S  f 

( 

/ 

5,000 

! 

A 

!\  II 

/ 

4,000 
3.000 
2.000 
1,000 
0 

; 

I'  '. 

f  «' '. 

/ 

1 
1 

1   ''' 

*  1 

f 

x 

\\ 

1 

r 

r\ 

^  ," 

>o 

1 

H 

yf\' 

\  .A/ 

— 

1 

^'n 

^ 

r 

• 

1  III 

Mil 

fill 

rrtr 

mTT 

frrrr 

tlTr? 

nrtT 

nTTT 

1  1  1  1      III! 

1 1 1 1  III 

I  1  1  1 

5355      60 


>„^IND1CATES  CHINESE 
__^  INDICATES  JAPANESE 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       139 

than  San  Francisco  between  1857  and  1884.  The 
above  figures  must  therefore  be  considered  only 
approximate,  though  they  are  the  best  that  can  be 
had. 

In  this  connection  the  reports  of  the  census  as  to 
the  number  of  Chinese  in  the  United  States  at  suc- 
cessive decades  is  interesting: 

I860 34,933   1890 107,488 

1870 63,199    1900 87,863 

1880 105,465    1910 73,531 

Were  the  Chinese  in  Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  elsewhere 
in  1910  to  be  included,  the  Chinese  population  in  the 
United  States  would  read  94,648.  Statistics  as  to 
sex,  age,  and  many  other  elements  have  been  kept 
only  during  recent  years.  It  is  impossible,  accord- 
ingly, to  secure  accurate  ideas  as  to  many  important 
factors,  save  for  recent  periods.  Such  statistics, 
however,  as  we  do  possess  throw  important  light  on 
the  situation. 

Theoretically,  Chinese  immigration  ceased  in  1882. 
The  chart  showing  the  entire  immigration  from  all 
countries  since  1820  published  by  the  Bureau  of 
Immigration  in  its  annual  reports,  shows  that  no 
Chinese  immigrants  have  entered  America  since 
1882.  In  the  body  of  the  successive  annual  reports, 
however,  Chinese  immigrants  and  non-immigrants 
are  listed  along  with  similar  classes  from  other 
lands,  and  are  classified  in  all  the  various  ways  ap- 
plied to  the  other  peoples. 


140    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

The  Chinese  exclusion  law,  it  is  ever  to  be  remem- 
bered, forbade  the  coming  to  America  only  of 
laborers.  Non-laborers  of  various  specified  classes 
have  been  allowed  to  enter,  and  so  long  as  these  thus 
admitted  retain  their  status  they  have  not  been  and 
are  not  now  liable  to  deportation.  Laborers  who 
were  in  America  when  the  exclusion  act  was  passed 
were  given  the  right  to  return  to  the  United  States 
should  they  at  any  time  visit  their  home  land. 

Since  1905  those  admitted  have  been  carefully 
classified  as  to  class  or  status.^ 


TOTAL  CHINESE  ADMITTED  TO  AND  DEPORTED 
FROM   THE  UNITED  STATES   (1905-1916) 


United  States  citizens 

Wives  of  citizens 

Returning  laborers 

Returning  merchants 

Other  merchants 

Members  of  merchants'  families 

Students 

Travellers 

Teachers 

Officials 

Miscellaneous 

Total 


Admitted 

Deported 

20,415 

2,059 

905 

55 

10,520 

192 

10,401 

383 

2,382 

363 

8,292 

1,690 

2,726 

118 

476 

17 

237 

3 

1,078 

4 

900 

549 

58,332 


5,433 


Especially  notable  in  the  above  table  are  the  20,415 
Chinese   who   were   admitted   because   they   were 

^For  the  years  1905-1908,  U.  S.  Annual  Immigration  Reports, 
Table  2,  For  the  years  1909-1916,  U.  S.  Annual  Immigration 
Reports,  Table  1. 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       141 

"citizens"  of  the  United  States.  Some  of  these 
20,415  may  have  visited  China  and  retm-ned  to  the 
United  States  more  than  once.  The  large  number 
of  "retm-ning  laborers"  (10,520)  and  of  "returning 
merchants  "(10,401)  is  also  highly  significant.  Add- 
ing together  the  above  three  classes  (41,336)  we  see 
that  two- thirds  of  those  admitted  (1905-1916)  con- 
sist of  Chinese  who  had  already  been  in  the  United 
States.  This  leaves  only  17,000  newcomers  in  the 
course  of  twelve  years.  Of  these,  4,517  consist  of 
transients  such  as  students  (2,726),  officials  (1,078), 
travellers  (476),  and  teachers  (237).  Of  the  re- 
mainder, moreover,  8,292  consist  of  Chinese  relatives 
coming  to  join  their  families.  In  twelve  years  only 
2,382  merchants  had  arrived  who  had  no  previous 
relations  with  this  country. 

Of  those  recorded  in  the  above  table,  it  is  not 
plain  who  are  regarded  as  immigrants  and  who  as 
non-immigrants.  Indeed,  efforts  to  answer  this  as 
well  as  other  questions  disclose  rather  disconcert- 
ing discrepancies  in  the  statistics  furnished  by  the 
bureau. 

For  instance:  From  Tables  VII  and  XIII  we 
learn  that  the  number  of  Chinese  immigrants  ad- 
mitted between  1909  and  1916  (inclusive)  was  15,610 
and  of  non-immigrants  was  23,031,  making  a  total 
of  38,641.  From  Table  1  we  learn  that  during  those 
same  years  the  total  number  of  Chinese  admitted 
to  the  United  States  was  45,115.    Striking  the  dif- 


142    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

ference  we  find  that  6,474  Chinese  were  admitted 
who  were  neither  immigrants  nor  non-immigrants, 
presumably,  therefore,  American  citizens.  But  the 
number  of  American  "citizens"  admitted  in  those 
years  was  16,326  or  9,854  more  than  Tables  VII  and 
XIII  make  room  for.  How  to  account  for  this  dis- 
crepancy the  tables  do  not  show. 

These  tables  also  disclose  the  rather  serious  fact 
that  during  these  twelve  years  5,433  Chinese  have 
been  deported,  2,059  of  them  claiming  that  they 
were  American  citizens.  In  this  connection  the 
reader  should  turn  back  to  the  quotation  rendered  by 
Judge  Morton  In  re  Chin  Loy  You,  cited  in  Chapter 
III. 

How  many  Chinese  women  have  come  to,  and  re- 
mained in,  the  United  States  ?  The  facts  seem  to  be 
these:  Until  1883  (inclusive)  the  total  arrivals 
seem  to  have  been  8,895,  while  those  arriving  be- 
tween 1884  and  1916  amounted  to  4,574,  making  a 
total  of  13,469.^  The  record  of  departures  of  Chinese 
women  seems  to  be  more  imperfect  than  that  of  the 
departures  of  Chinese  as  a  whole.  The  census  for 
1910,  however,  gives  the  following  figures  as  to  the 
numbers  of  Chinese  men  and  women  in  Continental 
United  States,  and  their  ratios  at  the  respective 
decades. 

1  The  sources  for  these  figures  are:  1851-1909,  Professor  Coolidge's 
"Chinese  Immigration,"  p.  502;  1904-1907,  Reports  of  Bureau  of 
Immigration,  Table  III;  1907-1916,  Reports  of  Bureau  of  Immigra- 
tion, Table  VII. 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       143 


CHINESE  MALES  AND  FEMALES  IN  CONTINENTAL 
UNITED   STATES 


Census 

Male 

Female 

Males  per 
EACH  Female 

1860 

1870 

1880 

1890 

1900 

1910 

33,149 
58,633 
100,686 
103,620 
85,341 
66,856 

1,784 
4,566 
4,779 
3,868 
4,522 
4,675 

18.58 
12.84 
21.06 
26.78 
18.87 
14.30 

THE  CENSUS  OF   1910  GIVES   THE  AGES  OF  THE 
CHINESE  POPULATION   AS   FOLLOWS: 


Ages 

Male 

Femalb 

Totals 

Under  5  years 

5-14  years 

15-24  years 

25-44  years 

45-64  years 

65  years  and  over .... 
Age  unknown 

719 
1,743 
7,038 
24,456 
29,113 
2,268 
1,519 

624 

1,096 

852 

1,497 

534 

62 

10 

1,343 
2,839 
7,890 
25,953 
29,647 
2,330 
1,529 

Total 

66,856 

4,675 

71,531 

In  other  words,  according  to  the  census  of  1910, 
while  there  were  in  the  United  States  60,607  males 
between  fifteen  and  sixty-four  years,  there  were  only 
2,883  women  of  the  same  ages.  Note  also  that 
nearly  one-half  of  the  men  were  over  forty-five  years 
of  age,  and  had  therefore  passed  the  point  of  their 
highest  physical  efl&ciency.  As  we  shall  see,  the 
records  of  emigration  show  that  large  numbers  of 
those  departing  have  been  in  the  United  States 
twenty  years  and  over. 


144    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

As  to  the  marital  condition  of  the  Chinese  as  shown 
by  the  census  of  1910,  the  facts  are  these.  Out  of 
66,856  males  in  the  United  States,  36,790  were  single 
and  26,451  were  married.  It  follows,  therefore,  that 
most  of  the  married  men  had  their  wives  in  China. 

As  to  the  women,  out  of  4,675  recorded  in  the  cen- 
sus for  1910,  those  imder  fifteen  years  of  age  and 
single  numbered  1,718,  two  being  married.  Only 
2,018  women  were  married,  while  229  were  widows, 
and  5  were  divorced.  Of  these  married  women, 
1,569  were  between  twenty  and  forty-four  years  of 
age. 

If  we  assume  that  all  of  the  1,343  children  under 
five  years  of  age  were  born  in  the  United  States  to 
the  above  2,018  married  women,  we  observe  that  the 
Chinese  families  did  not  have  on  the  average  one 
child  each  under  five  years  of  age. 

The  table  on  the  next  page  is  the  basis  for  the 
foregoing  statements.  It  also  gives  additional  facts 
concerning  the  marital  state  of  Chinese  in  the  United 
States. 

Since  1910  the  annual  reports  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Immigration  contain  figures  as  to  the  marital 
condition  of  immigrants  from  which  the  following 
facts  are  summarized.^  The  marital  state  of  non- 
immigrants does  not  seem  to  have  been  kept. 

Of  the  total  number  of  male  immigrants  admitted, 
fourteen  to   forty-four  years  of  age,   4,919  were 

^  Immigration  Reports,  Table  VII B, 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       145 

single,  4,121  were  married,  and  only  52  were  widowed. 
Of  1,939  males  forty-five  years  of  age  and  over,  only 
17  were  single  and  29  widowed,  while  1,893  were 
married.  Of  course  their  wives  were  doubtless  aU 
in  China. 

MARITAL  CONDITION  OF  CHINESE  IN  CONTINENTAL 
UNITED  STATES.     CENSUS   1910 


SlNGLB 

a 

Q 
H 

O 

o 

0 
N 
t> 

n 
o 

> 

Q 

z 

0 
z 

M 
Z 

Males — totals 

Under  15  years .  .  . 
15  years  and  over 

No. 
36,790 

2,460 
34,330 

% 
55 

99.9 
53.3 

26,451 

2 

26,449 

1,139 
1,139 

45 
'45' 

2,431 
2,43i 

Females — totals 

Under  15 

15  years  and  over. . 

15-19  years 

20-24  years 

25-29  years 

30-34  years 

35  and  over 

2,398 

1,718 

680 

300 

144 

55 

42 

139 

51.3 
99.9 
23.0 
78.9 
30.5 
12.9 
10.0 

2,018 

2 

2,016 

77 

316 

357 

352 

914 

229 

229 

8 

8 

21 

92 

5 
5 

i 

2 
2 

25 

25 
3 
4 
4 
1 

13 

As  for  the  females,  194  were  under  fourteen  years 
of  age.  Of  1,544  females  between  the  ages  of  fifteen 
and  forty-four,  only  165  were  single,  the  rest  being 
either  married  (1,365)  or  widowed  (14).  No  Chi- 
nese male  or  female  immigrant  admitted  during  the 
seven  years  under  consideration  was  divorced.  Of 
the  160  unmarried  female  immigrants  admitted, 
119  were  between  fourteen  and  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  34  between  twenty-two  and  twenty-nine, 
and  7  over  thirty  years  old. 


146    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

Since  1896  records  have  been  kept  in  regard  to  the 
sex,  age,  iUiteracy,  financial  condition,  and  certain 
other  facts  concerning  all  immigrants  to  the  United 
States.  Since  1909  similar  facts  have  been  recorded 
in  regard  to  non-immigrants.  Collecting  from  the 
successive  annual  reports  figures  dealing  with 
Chinese,  we  find  quite  a  number  of  illuminating 
facts.^ 

Out  of  39,415  immigrants,  fourteen  years  of  age 
and  over,  admitted  between  1896  and  1916,  2,941 
were  totally  illiterate.  Until  1908  no  distinction 
was  made  between  male  and  female  illiterates. 
Since  that  date,  however,  to  449  male  illiterates 
there  were  1,091  female  illiterates,  although  the  total 
female  immigrants  amounted  to  only  2,013  while 
the  total  male  immigrants  amounted  to  14,860.  In 
other  words,  among  Chinese  female  immigrants  the 
illiterate  were  more  than  one-half. 

From  1909  to  1916  the  total  number  of  male  non- 
immigrants was  22,574,  of  whom  1,713  were  illiter- 
ate, while  of  the  1,357  female  non-immigrants,  only 
132  were  illiterate.  How  to  account  for  this  very 
large  number  of  illiterates  among  the  non-immigrant 
males  is  an  interesting  question,  for  a  smaller  illiter- 
acy was  to  be  expected  among  the  non-immigrants 
than  among  the  immigrants. 

The  following  table  of  Chinese  illiteracy  is  taken 
from  the  census  for  1910: 

1  Tables  VII  and  XIII. 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       147 


CHINESE  ILLITERATES  IN    CONTINENTAL  UNITED 

STATES.    CENSUS  1910 


Aqes 

Total 

Illiterate 

Per  Cent 

Ten  years  of  age  and  over .  .  . 
Males 

10-19  years 

20-34  years 

35-54  years 

55  and  over 

68,924 
65,479 
4,144 
13,687 
33,800 
12,329 

10,891 
9,849 
302 
1,666 
4,944 
2,890 

15.8 

Females 

10-19  years 

20-34  years 

35-54  years 

65  and  over 

3,445 

870 

1,315 

1,317 

233 

1,042 

88 

427 

408 

136 

30.2 

Since  1896  records  have  been  kept  of  the  amounts 
of  money  brought  in  by  immigrants,  and  since  1909 
also  by  non-immigrants.^ 

Between  1896  and  1903  Chinese  immigrants  who 
brought  in  less  than  $30  each  numbered  10,738, 
while  those  who  exceeded  that  sum  numbered  1,963. 

Between  1904  and  1916  the  standard  figure  was 
$50.  In  that  interval  those  who  brought  in  over 
$50  number  6,573.  The  total  amount  brought  by 
Chinese  immigrants  during  this  entire  period  (1896- 
1916)  amounted  to  $1,233,631. 

Non-immigrants  in  the  period  between  1909  and 
1916  brought  $1,188,029,  of  which  6,250  persons 
brought  in  less  than  $50  each. 

Records  have  been  kept  also  in  regard  to  the 
sources  of  the  passage-money.     Between  1908  and 

» Tables  VII  and  XIII. 


148    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

1916  passage  was  paid  by  relatives  for  7,259  immi- 
grants, while  8,640  paid  their  own  passage.  Of  the 
non-immigrants,  20,373  paid  their  own  passage- 
moneys,  while  relatives  paid  the  passage  for  1,894. 

Another  interesting  item  disclosed  by  the  same 
tables  is  the  destination  of  Chinese  coming  to  our 
shores.  Between  1908  and  1916  out  of  16,873  immi- 
grants, 8,380  were  on  their  way  to  join  relatives 
and  4,088  to  join  friends.  Among  23,031  non-immi- 
grants, on  the  other  hand,  for  the  years  1909  to 
1916,  only  4,491  were  going  to  join  friends,  while 
the  remainder,  12,508,  had  neither  friends  nor 
relatives  as  their  objectives. 

We  turn  next  to  such  facts  as  may  be  learned 
from  the  reports  as  to  arrivals  and  departures. 
For  this  purpose  we  have  five  tables  to  study  (1, 
VII,  XIII,  VIIA,  and  XIII^).  Summaries  of  these 
tables  give  the  following  figures: 


CHINESE   ADMITTED    (1909-1916) 


Citizens 

Immigrants 

Non- 
immigrants 

Males 

Females 

Total 

\     16,328 

13,683 
1,927 

22,574 
1,357 

15,610 

23,031 

Age- 
Under  14  years 

14-44  years 

Over  44  years 

Total 

1,372 

12,150 

2,088 

642 

16,080 

6,309 

15,610 

23,031 

CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       149 


CHINESE   DEPARTURES    (1909-1916) 


Emigbantb 

NON- 
EMIQB/INTS 

Males 

Females 

Total 

19,022 
439 

30,453 

824 

19,461 

31,277 

Age — 

Under  14  years 

14-44  years 

Over  44  years 

Total 



135 

6,210 

13,116 

780 

21,071 

9,426 

19,461 

31,277 

Residence  in  U.  S. — 

Under  5  years 

5-10  years 

10-15  years 

15-20  years 

Over  20  years 

Unknown 



2,309 
2,558 
2,883 
2,680 
9,002 
29 

3,831 
3,910 
2,591 
2,294 
5,502 

13,149 

Residence    outside 
U.  S 

Total 

19,461 

31,277 

From  these  summaries  of  arrivals  and  departures 
the  following  facts  appear.  The  total  number  of 
immigrant  and  non-immigrant  Chinese  admitted 
between  the  years  1909  and  1916  (inclusive)  was 
38,041,  while  the  departures  during  the  same  period 
amounted  to  50,738.  The  Chinese  population  of 
the  United  States  diminished  therefore  by  12,097. 
When,  however,  we  distinguish  between  the  sexes 
we  discover  that  while  36,257  males  arrived,  49,475 
departed,  making  the  diminution  of  male  population 


150    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

13,218.  In  the  case  of  the  females,  on  the  other 
hand,  while  3,284  arrived,  only  1,263  departed, 
making  an  increase  in  the  female  population  of 
2,021  in  these  past  eight  years. 

In  addition  to  those  recorded  as  immigrants  and 
non-immigrants  some  16,328  "citizens"  (Table  1) 
were  admitted.  The  record  of  departed  "citizens" 
has  been  kept  only  since  1913  (Table  8).  The 
nmnber  of  those  who  departed  in  these  four  years 
has  been  4,819,  while  those  who  have  been  admitted 
during  the  same  years  has  been  8,327.  One  would 
suppose  that  Chinese  "wives  of  citizens"  would  be 
admitted  as  "citizens."  They  appear,  however,  to 
be  recorded  as  immigrants. 

We  should  especially  note  the  fact  that  while 
19,461  men  left  the  United  States  not  expecting  to 
return,  31,277  expected  to  be  absent  only  tem- 
porarily. Of  this  number,  however,  13,149  are 
recorded  as  having  had  their  residence  outside  the 
United  States.  The  correct  figure,  therefore,  of 
those  expecting  to  return  to  the  United  States  would 
doubtless  exclude  this  group;  this  gives  us  18,128 
who  left  expecting  to  return.  ,0f  course  the  4,819 
"citizens"  who  departed  were  all  expecting  to  return, 
for  they  took  pains  to  secure  return  certificates. 

Of  those  19,461  planning  not  to  return,  13,116 
were  over  forty-four  years  of  age  and  14,594  had 
lived  continuously  in  the  United  States  more  than 
ten  years,  and  9,002  more  than  twenty  years. 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       151 

The  occupations  of  immigrants  have  been  recorded 
since  1897  and  of  emigrants  since  1908.  From  our 
careful  compilation  of  the  statistics  we  derive  the 
following  facts: 

Out  of  a  total  immigration  of  40,023  (1897-1916), 
1,627  were  classed  as  professionals  (including  26 
clergy,  240  government  officials,  and  249  teachers), 
343  were  classed  as  "skilled,"  and  33,198  others, 
of  whom  5,877  were  "laborers"  and  18,474  were 
merchants. 

For  the  period  between  1908  and  1916  (inclusive), 
while  1,082  "professionals"  were  admitted  (220 
being  government  officials  and  199  teachers),  only 
302  professionals  are  recorded  as  having  departed. 

In  contrast  to  these  figures  the  number  of  the 
"skilled"  admitted  was  only  128,  while  1,164  de- 
parted ! 

The  most  striking  difference  between  immigrants 
and  emigrants  occurs  among  "laborers,"  of  whom 
651  were  admitted  to  14,263  departed.  More  immi- 
grant merchants  on  the  other  hand  arrived  than 
departed  in  this  period  (1908-1916),  the  figures 
being  respectively  5,870  arrivals  to  4,678  departures. 

The  reasoning  of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  in 
regard  to  classification  is  passing  strange,  not  to  say 
incomprehensible.  \Vhy  should  clergy,  government 
officials,  and  teachers  be  classed  as  immigrants,  and 
why  should  students  be  classed  with  women  and 
children    as    immigrants    having    no    occupation? 


152    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

This  latter  fact  comes  to  light,  not  from  the  table, 
but  from  correspondence. 

The  distribution  of  Chinese  in  the  different  sec- 
tions of  the  United  States  is  given  in  the  successive 
reports  of  the  census.  A  comparison  of  the  four 
decades  shows  that,  while  the  Chinese  population 
has  settled  largely  on  the  Pacific  coast,  considerable 
movement  has,  nevertheless,  taken  place  toward 
the  Atlantic  coast.  The  numbers  on  the  Pacific 
coast  have  steadily  diminished,  while  those  on  the 
east  coast  have  steadily  advanced. 


DISTRIBUTION  OF   CHINESE  POPULATION. 
REPORTS,  1880-1910 


CENSUS 


1880 

1890 

1900 

1910 

United  States 

105,465 

107,488 

89,863 

71,531 

New  England 

Middle  Atlantic 

401 
1,227 

1,488 
4,689 

4,203 
10,490 

3,499 
8,189 

East  North  Central .  . 
West  North  Central.. 

South  Atlantic 

East  South  Central. . . 
West  South  Central .  . 

390 
423 

74 
90 

758 

1,254 

1,097 

669 

274 

1,173 

2,533 
1,135 
1,791 
427 
1,555 

3,451 
1,195 

1,582 

414 

1,303 

Mountain 

14,274 

87,828 

11,572 

85,272 

7,950 
59,779 

5,614 
46,320 

Pacific 

Chinese  who  plan  to  leave  the  United  States  tem- 
porarily are  allowed  to  secure  certificates  of  residence 
which  will  permit  entry  upon  their  return.  Statistics 
of  these  facts  have  been  published  for  the  years 
1911-1916  (Table  5).     From  these  it  appears  that 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       153 

in  this  interval  6,423  American-born  citizens  were 
granted  such  certificates  while  491  professing  to  be 
native-born  citizens  were  refused  return  certificates. 
Of  the  classes  whose  immigration  is  not  forbidden 
by  our  Chinese  exclusion  laws,  5,399  were  granted 
certificates  of  return  and  also  4,740  "laborers," 
making  a  total  of  16,562  Chinese  who  left  the  United 
States  in  the  period  indicated  who  took  with  them 
return  certificates.  The  total  number  to  whom 
such  certificates  were  refused  was  1,163.  The  sta- 
tistics of  Table  8  may  well  be  considered  in  this 
connection.  They  deal  with  the  departures  of 
those  carrying  return  certificates  while  Table  5 
deals  with  applications  for  certificates,  without 
stating  when  those  receiving  them  actually  de- 
parted. This  doubtless  accounts  for  certain  appar- 
ent discrepancies.  The  ignominy  of  this  procedure 
we  impose  on  no  other  people. 

Certain  statistics  are  given  by  the  Bureau  of  Immi- 
gration as  to  the  basis  upon  which  American-born 
Chinese  citizens  were  admitted  to  the  United  States 
for  the  years  1908-1916  (Table  3).  It  appears  that 
in  this  period  8,720  Chinese  entered  the  United 
States  who  had  secured  determination  by  the  author- 
ities of  the  fact  that  they  were  citizens  before  they 
left,  while  2,116  had  that  fact  determined  only  upon 
their  return.  In  addition  to  these,  5,049  were  ad- 
mitted as  citizens,  though  born  in  China,  on  the 
ground  that  their  fathers  were  American  citizens. 


154    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

These  facts  raise  certain  questions  regarding  the 
law  that  children  of  immigrants  born  in  America  are 
for  that  mere  reason  American  citizens,  and  that 
children  born  abroad  of  these  American-bom  fathers 
are  also  citizens.  On  the  basis  of  these  laws  children 
bom  in  America  but  sent  to  China  and 'reared  to 
manhood  there,  or  even  bom  and  reared  in  China  of 
Chinese  fathers  who  were  born  in  America,  can  claim 
free  admittance  to  the  United  States  and  to  rights 
of  suffrage,  even  though  they  are  absolutely  ignorant 
of  English  and  have  no  knowledge  whatever  of  Amer- 
ican life,  of  our  government,  or  of  the  Constitution. 
The  recommendations  of  the  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation (Report  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  1916,  p. 
161)  in  regard  to  this  matter  should  be  given  speedy 
and  serious  consideration. 

The  Federal  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations 
calls  attention  in  its  report  (1915)  to  the  same  mat- 
ter. It  states  that  "Chinese  arrested  for  being  un- 
lawfully in  the  United  States  set  up  the  claim  of 
nativity."  It  adds  that  "a  rather  dangerous  situa- 
tion is  developing"  (pp.  244-245).  The  commission 
also  makes  a  nimiber  of  rather  important  recommen- 
dations with  regard  to  the  problems  raised  by  the 
"smuggHng  or  other  illegal  entry  of  Asiatics  into  the 
United  States." 

The  Immigration  Bureau  reports  in  detail  as  to 
the  number  of  Chinese  in  the  United  States  arrested, 
discharged,  and  deported.    These  facts  are  given  for 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       155 

the  years  1909-1916  (Table  6).  From  a  compila- 
tion of  these  statistics  we  learn  that  in  the  period  in- 
dicated, 4,022  Chinese  were  arrested  on  the  ground 
of  not  being  lawfully  in  the  country.  Of  these,  1,212 
were  discharged,  the  evidence  presented  by  the 
officials  being  inadequate,  while  2,928  were  deported, 
and  161  either  escaped  or  died  before  the  decision 
of  the  court  was  reached.  Is  it  not  a  serious  reflec- 
tion on  the  efficiency  and  fair  dealing  of  the  federal 
administrative  officials  that  30  per  cent  of  the  arrests 
should  prove  to  be  of  men  who  are  innocent  ?  The 
question  naturally  arises  as  to  what  compensation 
or  redress  such  Chinese  have  for  the  indignity  and 
expense  that  has  been  inflicted  upon  them  by  offi- 
cials who,  to  say  the  least,  are  certainly  inefficient. 
Here  again  the  reader  may  well  reflect  on  the  state- 
ments of  Judge  Morton  quoted  in  Chapter  III.  His 
attention  is  especially  called  to  the  quotations  given 
in  the  Appendix  to  this  chapter. 

The  number  of  those  debarred  between  1899-1916 
was  5,959;  of  these,  991  were  classed  as  having 
"loathsome  or  contagious  diseases,"  456  as  "likely 
to  become  public  charges,"  and  4,313  as  being  de- 
barred by  the  Chinese  exclusion  laws. 

Effort  has  been  made  to  find  statistics  which  would 
differentiate  the  Hawaiian  Islands  from  Continental 
United  States.  A  few  facts  along  this  line  have 
already  been  presented.  In  general  the  statistics 
are  meagre.    From  Tables  IX  and  IX  A  we  secure 


156    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

certain  figures  for  immigrants  and  emigrants  for 
the  years  1909  to  1916.  As  there  are  no  similar 
figures  for  non-immigrants  and  non-emigrants,  a  full 
view  of  the  changes  in  Chinese  population  in  Con- 
tinental United  States  and  Hawaii  considered  sep- 
arately is  not  to  be  had.  A  summary  of  these  tables 
shows  that  during  the  period  under  consideration 
those  leaving  Continental  United  States  not  expect- 
ing to  return  (17,155)  exceeded  the  number  (14,715) 
of  those  admitted  who  expect  to  remain  here  by 
2,440,  while  the  corresponding  figures  for  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands  were:  emigrants,  2,306;  immigrants, 
895,  giving  an  excess  of  permanent  departiu-es  of 
1,411. 

An  interesting  table  is  given  in  the  census  of  1910 
(vol.  I,  p.  1070)  showing  the  number  of  males 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over  classified  according 
to  citizenship.  It  appears  that  of  the  60,421  Chi- 
nese males  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over  in  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  census  of  1910, 
8,463  were  American  born,  1,368  were  naturalized, 
and  483  others  had  taken  out  first  papers!  The 
naturalization  of  the  Chinese  in  the  United  States 
ceased,  of  course,  in  1882,  but  continued  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  untU  those  islands  were  annexed 
in  1900,  at  which  time  all  Chinese  and  others  who 
were  citizens  of  Hawaii  were  accepted  as  citizens  of 
the  United  States.  The  above  figures,  however, 
do  not  include  Chinese  in  the  Territory  of  Hawaii. 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       157 

The  table  shows  also  how  they  were  distributed  in 
the  various  sections  of  the  United  States. 

Between  the  years  1910-1916  the  total  number  of 
Chinese  non-immigrants  admitted  to  the  Philippine 
Islands  was  42,779;  while  the  number  of  non-emi- 
grant departures  was  52,537.  Apparently  those 
who  enter  for  a  temporary  stay,  leave  only  for  a 
temporary  absence. 

This  must  suffice  for  our  study  of  the  Chinese  in 
the  United  States.  We  turn  next  to  a  study  of  the 
Japanese. 

Appendix  to  Chapter  X 

The  September  (1909)  number  of  the  Annals  of 
the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ence was  devoted  to  the  problem  of  Chinese  and 
Japanese  in  America.  Many  important  discussions 
are  there  given  with  which  the  student  who  wishes 
to  be  thoroughly  informed  should  be  acquainted. 
Quotations  are  here  presented  from  two  articles 
which  throw  important  Hght  on  American  mistreat- 
ment of  Chinese. 

From  "The  Enforcement  of  the  Chinese  Ex- 
clusion Law,"  by  James  Bronson  Reynolds: 

"On  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  the  eleventh  moon 
of  Peng  Ng  year,  that  is,  January  13,  1907,  there 
appeared  on  the  walls  of  many  buildings  in  the 
Chinese  quarter  of  Singapore  a  declaration  from 
which  I  take  the  following  statement:   'In  America 


158    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

we  are  one  and  all  ill-treated  as  if  we  were  criminals, 
no  distinction  being  made  between  officials,  mer- 
chants, students,  and  ordinary  people.  There  the 
disgrace  inflicted  upon  us  may  be  said  to  be  carried 
to  its  fullest  limit.  .  .  .  Given  by  Lam  Hong  Wai, 
the  man  who  proposes  to  revive  the  boycott.'  The 
signer  of  this  declaration  was  a  well-known,  pros- 
perous Chinese  merchant  of  Singapore,  and  his  judg- 
ment on  the  American  Bureau  of  Immigration,  I 
am  informed,  voiced  the  general  sentiment  of  in- 
telligent Chinamen. 

"A  few  months  previous  to  the  above  pronuncia- 
mento,  I  was  visited  by  a  Chinese  merchant,  who 
told  me  the  following  experience  of  a  brother  mer- 
chant of  New  York.  A  son  of  the  latter,  born  in 
this  country,  hence  entitled  under  the  law  to  live 
here,  had  gone  to  Canton  to  receive  a  Chinese  educa- 
tion. On  the  completion  of  his  studies  he  returned 
to  this  country.  Upon  reaching  San  Francisco,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  a  first-class  passenger 
and  carried  papers  establishing  his  American  birth, 
he  was  stopped  and  confined  in  the  'pen,'  the  rough 
quarters  in  which  detained  immigrants  were  lodged. 
Upon  this  detention  he  wired  his  father,  who  at 
once  started  for  San  Francisco.  The  father  found 
on  arrival  that  his  son  had  been  ordered  deported. 
The  father  retained  an  American  lawyer,  who  ap- 
pealed from  the  local  decision  on  the  case  to  the 
higher  immigration  authorities  in  Washington.  Two 
days  later  the  father  was  visited  by  a  Chinese  inter- 
preter in  the  service  of  the  American  government, 
who  told  him  that  he  had  wasted  time  in  appealing 
to  Washington  and  that  fifty  dollars  given  to  the 
right  man  would  have  'fixed'  the  case.  The  inter- 
preter stated  subsequently  that  even  then  one  hun- 
dred dollars  would  arrange  the  matter.  This  amount 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       159 

was  promptly  paid  and  the  next  day  the  father  and 
son  started  east. 

''Similar  incidents  were  told  me  by  Chinese  mer- 
chants and  officials  as  well  as  by  American  mission- 
aries. Some  of  their  tales  were  well  substantiated; 
some  were  of  doubtful  truth.  But  unfortunately 
the  fiction  was  not  more  discreditable  than  the 
truth.  An  able  Chinese  governor,  since  made  vice- 
roy, stated  to  me  that  though  he  desired  to  send 
students  from  his  province  to  America,  he  was  de- 
terred from  doing  so  by  the  treatment  accorded  to 
Chinese  students  at  American  ports  of  entry." 
(Pp.  363-364.) 

From  "Un-American  Character  of  Race  Legisla- 
tion," by  Max  J.  Kohler: 

"Alleged  difficulties  in  the  enforcement  of  these 
laws  and  attempted  evasions  thereof — scarcely  sus- 
tained, however,  by  our  official  government  census, 
which  recorded  105,465  Chinese  residents  in  1880, 
106,000  in  1890  and  only  93,000  in  1900,  with  70,000 
the  present  official  estimate  of  the  Department  of 
Commerce  and  Labor — led  to  legislation  for  the 
registration  of  all  resident  Chinese  laborers,  under 
heavy  and  previously  unheard-of  extra-constitutional 
penalties,  and  danger  of  arrest  of  all  Chinese,  on  the 
claim  that  they  should  have  registered,  and  strin- 
gent, often  unobtainable,  proof  on  the  part  of  all 
non-laborers  was  demanded.  The  law  was  admin- 
istered on  the  theory  that  only  'teachers,  students, 
merchants  or  travelers  from  curiosity'  may  enter. 
The  exclusion  of  'bankers,'  'traders,'  physicians, 
actors,  etc.,  because  not  affirmatively  enumerated, 
was  ordered.  The  determination  by  administrative 
officers  cf  all  appHcations  to  enter  was  made  final, 


160    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

with  no  right  of  resort  to  the  courts  on  the  difficult 
and  important  questions  of  law  and  fact  involved, 
even  with  respect  to  claims  to  American  citizenship. 
Uncontradicted  evidence  was  disregarded  in  a  way 
not  sustained  in  any  other  class  of  cases;  arrest  and 
detention  and  a  shifting  of  the  burden  of  proof  upon 
defendants,  wholly  abhorrent  to  our  Anglo-Saxon 
s)^stem  of  jurisprudence,  was  practiced  and  held 
to  be  constitutional,  despite  bills  of  rights,  on  the 
theory  that  the  right  to  exclude  and  expel  aliens 
may  be  pursued  by  ex-tra-constitutional  methods. 
In  short,  there  was  instituted  a  constant  reign  of 
terror  for  all  Chinese  or  alleged  Chinese  residents, 
laborers  or  non-laborers.  Their  liberty  is  constantly 
jeopardized  by  harsh  and  oppressive  laws,  and  their 
property  is  accordingly  also  endangered  under  the 
sentiment  thereby  engendered  that  they  are  be- 
yond the  protection  of  our  laws.  Only  one  who, 
like  the  writer,  has  become  familiar  in  practice  with 
the  injustice  and  barbarity  of  these  laws  in  their 
actual  practical  workings,  can  realize  that  such 
practices  can  exist  amid  our  boasted  American 
civilization.  The  Chinese  have  little  access  to  our 
public  prints  and  have  substantially  no  votes,  and 
when  even  their  officials,  vehemently  but  righteously 
decline  to  join  in  doing  honor  to  a  military  officer 
who  had  made  an  unauthorized  extension  of  these 
anti-Chinese  enactments  to  our  new  Asiatic  posses- 
sion, to  breed  such  race  prejudice  on  that  continent, 
too,  they  become  persona  non  grata  V^  (Pp.  283- 
284.) 

"A  reference  in  passing  to  recent  statutes  au- 
thorizing the  expulsion,  within  three  years  after 
landing,  of  any  aliens  for  alleged  specffied  causes 
by  mere  admmistrative  action,  with  right  denied 
of  judicial  review,  indicates  how  invidious  is  the 


CHINESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       161 

atmosphere  which  engenders  such  legislation.  It 
creates  a  dangerous  condition  for  all  aliens  and 
alleged  aliens,  in  placing  their  rights  on  an  adminis- 
trative footing  inferior  to  those  of  citizens,  contrary 
to  the  American  spirit.  On  the  other  hand,  as  re- 
gards Chinese  residents,  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  statutory  discriminations  against  them 
and  their  testimony  and  their  subjection  to  irre- 
sponsible petty  executive  officers,  has  created  a 
spirit  of  disregard  for  their  persons  and  property 
of  a  very  far-reaching  character,  and  has  resulted 
in  their  often  becoming  the  victims  of  official  bribery 
and  extortion,  to  which  Oriental  races  may  be  pecu- 
liarly susceptible.  This  cannot  be  measured  merely 
by  the  already  appreciable  mmiber  of  convictions 
and  dismissals  of  government  officials  for  these 
causes,  that  happen  to  have  taken  place.  It  is  but 
fair  to  say,  in  this  connection,  that  there  have  been 
but  comparatively  few  wholesale  arrests  of  resident 
Chinese  under  our  exclusion  laws  since  the  famous 
Boston  raid  of  Sunday,  October  11, 1902,  when  about 
250  Chinese  persons,  in  fact  all  the  Chinese  residents 
of  Boston  who  could  be  found,  were  simultaneously 
arrested,  nearly  all  to  be  subsequently  discharged, 
after  sustaining  gross  hardships  and  injuries. 
Hon.  John  W.  Foster  has  ably  described  this  con- 
temporary imitation  of  the  'Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,' 
and  the  large  public  meeting  of  protest  in  Faneuil 
Hall  following  it,  in  an  article  on  'The  Chinese 
Boycott,'  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  January,  1906." 


CHAPTER  XI 
JAPANESE   IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

The  annual  immigration  of  the  Japanese  to  the 
United  States  passed  the  100  mark  in  1885,  and  the 
1,000  mark  in  1891.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Chinese, 
the  statistics  furnished  by  the  Bureau  of  Immigra- 
tion are  far  from  complete.  Previous  to  1870  the 
total  Japanese  arrivals  had  slightly  exceeded  100. 
Between  1870  and  1879  some  164  are  recorded  as 
arriving,  and  during  the  eighties  only  1,874  entered. 
Between  1890  and  1899  the  immigration  averaged 
about  1,500  annually.  The  following  decade  saw 
the  large  immigration.  During  the  first  year  (1900) 
of  the  decade  12,628  arrived,  20,041  in  1903,  and 
30,842  in  1907.  The  "gentlemen's  agreement" 
then  went  into  operation  and  immigration  fell  to 
16,418  in  1908,  and  to  3,275  in  1909,  the  total  for 
the  decade  being  142,536.  Between  1910  and  1916 
(inclusive)  Japanese  immigration  amounted  to  48,- 
108.    This  gives  a  grand  total  of  about  208,000. 

Since  1900  non-immigrants  have  been  distin- 
guished from  immigrants.  Between  1900  and  1908 
(inclusive)  non-immigrants  are  reported  to  the 
extent  of  4,721   (by  country),^  while  from  1909- 

'  Source:  Senate  Documents,  No.  747 — 6l8t  Congress,  3d  Session; 
Report  of  Immigration  Commission,  vol.  I,  pp.  66-96,  Table  IX, 
Parts  1  and  2. 

162 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES   163 

1916  (inclusive)  there  were  22,074  (by  race),  giving 
a  total  record  of  non-immigrants  of  27,511  between 
1900  and  1916.  This  brings  the  total  of  alien  Japa- 
nese admitted  to  the  United  States  as  immigrants 
and  non-immigrants  to  233,582.  It  is  to  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  these  statistics  exclude  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  before,  and  include  them  since, 
1900.  With  the  annexation  of  those  islands  their 
entire  Japanese  population  of  some  61,111  was  sud- 
denly added  to  the  Japanese  population  of  the  United 
States,  thus  bringing  the  total  nearly  up  to  300,000. 
The  record  of  departures  is  exceedingly  fragmen- 
tary. In  their  place  we  may  note  the  record  of  the 
census  for  the  successive  periods  showing  how  many 
Japanese  were  present  in  the  United  States  at  the 
time  of  each  census. 

JAPANESE  POPULATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
AND  HAWAII 


CuNsua 

United  States 

Hawaii 

Malb 

Fbmale 

Total 

Male 

Female 

Total 

1870 

1880 

1890 

1900 

1910 

47 

134 

1,780 

23,341 

63,070 

8 

14 

259 

985 

9,087 

55 

148 

2,039 

24,326 

72,157 

47,508 

54,785 

13^603 
24,891 

12,3601 

61,111 

79,675 

As  in  the  case  of  the  Chinese,  so  here  the  Bureau 
of  Immigration  provides  us  with  statistics,  increas- 

*  This  figure  does  not  include  Hawaiian-born  Japanese. 


164    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

ingly  complete  as  time  passes.  The  sex  and  illiter- 
acy of  immigrants  is  reported  beginning  with  the 
year  1896,  and  of  non-immigrants,  emigrants,  and 
non-emigrants  from  1909.^  From  these  tables  we 
secure  the  following  summary: 

JAPANESE  ADMITTED  TO  AND  DEPARTED  FROM  THE 
UNITED  STATES   (1896-1916) 


1896-1908 

1909-1916 

Male 

Fe- 
male 

Total 

Male 

Fe- 
male 

Total 

Arrivals — 

Immigrants . .  ] 
Non- 
immigrants j 

Total 

126,835 

20,687 

147,522 

[  19,960 

< 

1 19,685 

31,423 
2,389 

51,383 
22,074 

39,645 

33  812 

73,457 

Departures — 

Emigrants 

Non-emigrants  . 

Total 

13,047 
41,739 

3,208 
8,611 

16,255 
50,350 

54,786 

11,819 

66,605 

From  the  above  table  the  following  facts  appear. 
During  the  period  of  largest  immigration  (thirteen 
years,  1896-1908)  126,835  men  arrived,  and  only 
20,687  women.  How  many  left  the  United  States 
during  these  years  we  do  not  know.  After  the 
"gentlemen's  agreement"  went  into  effect  (eight 
years,  1909-1916),  39,645  men  and  33,812  women 
were  admitted.  In  this  same  period,  however, 
54,786  men  returned  to  Japan  and  only  11,819 
women.    To  put  the  facts  from  a  different  angle, 

1  Tables  VII,  XIII,  \1IA-X11IA. 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      165 

the  Japanese  alien  male  population  of  the  United 
States  diminished  by  15,141,  while  the  Japanese  alien 
female  population  increased  by  21,993.  The  en- 
tire increase  of  Japanese  population  in  the  United 
States  by  arrivals  over  departures  was  6,852  in  eight 
years.  These  figures  it  is  to  be  remembered  include 
the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

These  facts  are  so  contrary  to  the  ordinary  im- 
pression sedulously  cultivated  by  anti-Japanese 
agitators  that  for  the  sake  of  emphasis  and  ease  of 
reference  I  present  them  in  another  form. 

Total  alien  Japanese  male  departures  (1909-1916) 54,786 

Total  arrivals  (1909-1916) 39,645 

Decrease  of  alien  Japanese  males  in  U.  S 15,141 

Total  alien  Japanese  females  entered  U.  S.  (1909-1916) 33,812 

Total  alien  Japanese  females  departed  (1909-1916) 11,819 

Increase  of  alien  Japanese  females  in  U.  S 21,993 

The  foregoing  statistics  take  no  account  of  births 
or  deaths,  and  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  these 
figures  include  arrivals  to  and  departures  from  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  We  shall  see  later  on  that  of 
the  above  decrease  of  males  about  one-half  took  place 
in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  and  one-half  in  Continental 
United  States.  In  regard  to  the  increase  of  females 
also  approximately  one-half  was  in  Hawaii  and  one- 
half  in  Continental  United  States. 

Arrivals  exceeded  departures  (1909-1916)  in  the 
case  of  those  under  fourteen  years  of  age  by  1,454, 
and  by  10,657  of  those  between  fourteen  and  forty- 


166    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 


AGE  OF  ALIEN  JAPANESE  ARRIVING  AND  DEPARTING 


1896-1908 

1909-1916 

Arrivals 
Immigrants — 

Under  14  years 

2,365 

142,649 

2,508 

2,764 

46,118 

2,501 

14—44  years 

Over  44  years 

Non-immigrants — 

Under  14  years 

147,522 

51,383 

280 

19,840 

1,954 

14—44  years 

Over  44  years 



22,074 

Departures 
Emigrants — 

Under  14  years 



719 

12,509 

3,027 

14-44  years 

44  and  over 

Non-emigrards — 

Under  14  years 



16,255 

871 

42,792 
6,687 

14—44  years 

Over  44  years 

50,350 

four  years  old,  while  of  those  over  forty-four  years 
old  the  departures  exceeded  arrivals  by  5,259. 
These  figures  show  that  the  vast  majority  of  the 
Japanese  coming  to  America  are  in  the  prime  of 
life,  while  of  those  who  have  passed  the  prime  of 
life  departures  largely  exceed  arrivals. 

An  interesting  inquiry  concerns  the  length   of 
residence  of  those  leaving  the  United  States. 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      167 


LENGTH  OF  RESIDENCE  IN  UNITED  STATES 
OF  JAPANESE  ALIENS.    DEPARTING   (1909-1916)» 


Emigrants 

Non- 
emigrants 

Total 

Not  over  5  years 

5-10  years 

5,466 
5,643 
3,038 
1,457 
593 
67 

10,960 

22,107 

8,108 

2,582 

1,124 

5,469 

16,426 

27,750 

11,146 

4,039 

1,717 

67 

5,469 

10—15  years 

15—20  years .  , 

Over  20  years 

Unknown 

Residence  outside  U.  S. 

16,264  * 

50,350 

66,614 

We  note  first  that  of  the  50,350  non-emigrants 
leaving  the  United  States,  5,469  had  not  been  resi- 
dent in  the  United  States  at  all.  They  simply- 
passed  through  it.  Is  it  not  surprising  to  find  them 
classed  as  non-emigrants,  for  this  class  consists  of 
those  who  are  leaving  the  United  States  for  only  a 
temporary  absence?  Disregarding  this  group,  how- 
ever, we  find  that  while  16,264  left  the  country  not 
expecting  to  return,  44,881  (50,350-5,469  =  44,- 
881)  left  the  United  States  with  the  definite  ex- 
pectation of  returning  in  the  near  future,  of  whom 
33,067  had  lived  ui  the  United  States  less  than  ten 
years. 

We  turn  next  to  the  question  of  the  degree  of  illit- 
eracy of  Japanese  admitted  to  the  United  States. 

» Tables  XII A  and  XIII  A. 

*  The  discrepancy  of  9  between  this  figure  and  the  figure  (16,255) 
on  a  previous  page  is  due  to  the  inclusion  here  of  9  persons  in  1909 
whose  sex  and  age  were  unknown. 


168    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

The  following  table  gives  a  summary  view.  We 
have  omitted  the  few  cases  of  those  who  could  read 
but  not  write,  and  have  included  only  those  who 
could  neither  read  nor  write. 


ILLITERACY  OF  JAPANESE  ALIENS  ADMITTED  TO  THE 
UNITED  STATES 


1896-1908 

1909-1916 

Immigrants — 

Male 

.  34,441 

1,736 
7,813 
9,549 

661 
407 
1,068 

Female 

Total 

Non-Immigrants — 

Male 

Female 

Total 

Total  illiterates 

10,617 

It  thus  appears  that  out  of  a  total  arrival  of 
Japanese  from  1896  to  1908  of  147,522,  nearly  a 
quarter  (34,441)  could  neither  read  nor  write.  This 
effectually  substantiates  the  contention  of  those  who 
complain  that  a  very  considerable  fraction  of  Japa- 
nese admitted  were  members  of  the  lowest  classes  in 
Japan. 

But  it  is  a  matter  of  no  little  surprise  that  since 
the  "gentlemen's  agreement"  went  into  effect,  out 
of  80,057  total  admissions,  10,617  illiterates  should 
have  been  allowed  by  the  Japanese  Government  to 
come.  Of  these  it  is  to  be  observed  8,220  were 
women. 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      169 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  illiteracy  of  those 
departing  is  not  recorded;  for  then  we  could  know 
whether  or  not  the  degree  of  their  education  makes 
any  difference  with  their  capacity  for  satisfactory 
residence  in  this  country.  The  records  also  fail  to 
show  whether  the  illiterates  come  equally  to  Con- 
tinental United  States  and  to  Hawaii. 

The  census  for  1900  and  for  1910  gives  the  follow- 
ing figures  regarding  Japanese  illiterates  in  Con- 
tinental United  States: 


JAPANESE  IN  CONTINENTAL  UNITED  STATES  10  YEARS 
OF  AGE  AND  OVER 


1900 

1910 

Total 
No. 

Illitbratb 

Total 
No. 

Illiterate 

No. 

Per 

Cent 

No. 

Per 

Cent 

Male 

Female 

Total. .  . . 

23,214 

877 

4,211 
175 

18.1 
20.0 

60,809 
6,852 

5,247 
966 

8.6 
14.1 

24,091 

4,386 

18.2 

67,661 

6,213 

9.2 

This  table  shows  that  in  the  decade  intervening 
between  the  census  of  1900  and  that  of  1910  the 
illiteracy  of  Japanese  men  fell  from  18.1  per  cent  to 
8.6  per  cent,  while  that  of  the  women  fell  from  20 
per  cent  to  14.1  per  cent.  There  is  abundant  reason 
for  believing  that  the  next  census  will  disclose  a  very- 
great  reduction  of  Japanese  illiterates  in  Continental 
United  States. 

The  Immigration  Bureau  has  kept  records  of  the 


170    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSfflP 

amounts  of  money  brought  by  incoming  Japanese. 
Between  1896  and  1908  the  total  amount  brought 
in  by  immigrants  was  $6,055,562,  and  between  1909 
and  1916  $2,124,686,  while  non-immigrants  between 
1909  and  1916  (inclusive)  brought  $2,248,425,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  cash  brought  into  the  country  of 
$10,428,673(1896-1916). 

Out  of  51,383  immigrants  arriving  between  1909 
and  1916  (inclusive)  10,499  paid  their  own  passage- 
money,  40,407  had  their  passage  paid  by  relatives, 
and  527  were  provided  for  by  others.  Among  non- 
immigrants for  the  same  period  18,914  paid  their  own 
way,  2,443  were  provided  for  by  relatives,  and  717 
were  assisted  by  others. 

For  the  same  period,  of  the  immigrants,  41,284 
came  to  join  relatives,  and  4,140  came  to  join  friends, 
leaving  5,959  who  had  other  destinations,  while  of 
the  non-immigrants  4,942  were  coming  to  friends 
and  11,029  had  neither  kind  of  objective. 

We  turn  next  to  the  question  of  the  proportions 
of  the  sexes  and  their  marital  condition.  On  this 
subject  the  records  of  the  immigration  reports  are 
exceedingly  imperfect.  We  turn  first  of  all,  there- 
fore, to  the  census  reports,  from  which  the  tables  on 
the  opposite  page  have  been  compiled. 

From  these  tables  we  learn  that  while  there  were 
59,344  men  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  sixty- 
four,  there  were  6,590  women  of  the  same  ages. 
This  proportion  was  in  marked  contrast  to  the  pro- 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      171 

portion  of  sexes  in  the  case  of  the  Chinese.  We 
have  already  seen  that  between  1909  and  1916  the 
Japanese  male  population  diminished  by   15,141, 


JAPANESE   MALES   AND    FEMALES   IN    CONTINENTAL 
UNITED   STATES 


Census 


Males 


Females 


Males  per 
Female 


1870 
1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 


47 

134 

1,780 

23,341 

63,070 


8 

14 

259 

985 

9,087 


6.87 

23.69 

6.94 


THE  AGES  OF  JAPANESE  RECORDED  IN   THE 
CENSUS  OF  1910  ARE  AS  FOLLOWS: 


Male 

Female 

Total 

Under  5  years 

5—14  years 

1,689 

845 

13,703 

42,596 

3,045 

38 

1,154 

1,719 

720 

1,885 

4,531 

174 

32 

56 

3,408 

1,565 
15,588 
47,127 

3,219 
40 

1,210 

15-24  years 

25-44  years 

45-64  years 

65  and  over 

Unknown 

Total 

63,070 

9,087 

72,157 

while  the  Japanese  female  population  increased  by 
21,993.  As  these  latter  figures  include  Japanese 
arriving  at  and  leaving  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  they 
cannot  be  immediately  compared  with  the  figures  of 
the  above  table.  But  they  do  show  that  the  dis- 
parity between  the  sexes  is  rapidly  diminishing. 


172    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

The  marital  condition  of  the  Japanese  is  shown  by 
the  census  of  1910  as  follows: 

MARITAL  CONDITION  OF  JAPANESE  IN  CONTINENTAL 
UNITED  STATES.     CENSUS  of  1910 


Single 

Q 

a 
a 

o 
a 

0 

H 
0 
» 
0 
> 

Q 

0 
z 

M 
Z 

No. 

Per 

Cent 

Male  total 

45,222 

71.7 

15,918 

495 

86 

1,349 

Under  15  years. .  . . 
15  years  and  over. 

2,534 

42,688 

100. 
70.5 

15,918 

495 

86 

1,349 

Female  total 

3,346 

36.1 

5,582 

96 

17 

46 

Under  15  years. . . . 
15  years  and  over.  . 

15-19  years 

20-24  years 

25-29  years 

30-34  years 

35  years  and  over  . 

2,438 
908 
170 
229 
264 
146 
99 

100. 
13.7 
49.1 
14.9 
13.3 
9.9 

1 

5,581 
174 
1,298 
1,691 
1,307 
1,111 

96 

"5 
16 
12 
63 

17 

6 
5 
2 
4 

46 
2 
1 
5 
3 

35 

If  we  assume  that  all  the  Japanese  married  women 
in  the  United  States  are  living  with  their  husbands 
here,  then  the  number  of  married  men  who  have 
wives  in  Japan  at  the  time  of  the  census  was  10,336. 
Many  of  these  wives  no  doubt  are  among  the  21,256 
women  who  came  to  America  between  1909  and 
1916. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  there  were  738 
unmarried  women  over  twenty  years  of  age,  and  113 
more  of  the  same  age  who  were  either  widows  or 
divorced.  We  should  note  also  the  small  number  of 
those  who  were  divorced. 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      173 

While  the  Chinese  families  in  America  numbered 
only  2,018  to  a  total  population  of  71,531,  the 
number  of  Japanese  families  to  a  total  Japanese 
population  of  72,157  was  5,582.  It  is  a  surprise, 
therefore,  to  observe  that  in  these  5,582  families 
there  were  only  3,408  children  under  five  years  of 
age. 

The  marital  condition  of  immigrants  has  been 
recorded  since  1910,  but  not  of  non-immigrants. 
Of  15,025  male  Japanese  immigrants  admitted 
during  the  seven  years  recorded,  1,649  were  under 
fourteen  years  of  age;  of  the  remainder,  9,238  were 
single  and  5,754  were  married;  while  of  the  28,061 
female  immigrants  admitted,  966  were  under  four- 
teen years  of  age,  of  those  from  fourteen  to  forty- 
four  years  of  age  1,808  were  single,  and  26,225 
were  married,  most  of  them  doubtless  to  husbands 
whom  they  were  coming  to  join.  Of  the  1,728  un- 
married females  fourteen  to  forty-four  years  of  age, 
1,451  were  from  fourteen  to  twenty-one  years  old, 
237  were  from  twenty-two  to  twenty-nine,  and  90 
were  from  thirty  to  forty-four  years  old. 

In  this  connection  we  present  a  summary  of  cer- 
tain statistics  (1914)  published  by  the  Dendo  Dan 
in  regard  to  Japanese  population  in  the  States  of 
California,  Nevada,  Utah,  New  Mexico,  and  Colo- 
rado. They  are  classified  by  sex,  heads  of  families, 
children,  and  others,  and  also  under  86  varieties  of 
occupation. 


174    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

Heads  of  families 49,759 

Wives 11,833 

Children , 9,576 

Others 445 

Total 71,613 

According  to  these  figures  the  total  number  of 
Japanese  children  is  less  by  2,257  than  the  number 
of  wives.  If  each  family  had  only  one  child,  there- 
fore, there  would  be  2,257  families  with  no  child. 
There  are,  however,  reasons  for  believing  as  we 
shall  soon  see  that  the  above  figures,  particularly 
with  regard  to  children,  are  incomplete. 

The  largest  single  group  by  occupation  is  that  of 
farmers,  there  being  10,475  men,  5,594  wives,  and 
4,594  children,  while  farm  laborers  number  16,391, 
their  wives  1,401,  and  their  children  976. 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  secure  statistics  as  to 
the  number  of  Japanese  children  in  the  schools  of 
California.  The  reply  from  the  office  of  the  super- 
intendent of  public  instruction  states  that  "  Chinese 
and  Japanese  children  are  admitted  to  the  Cali- 
fornia schools  upon  exactly  the  same  terms  as  other 
children  and  no  reports  are  made  as  to  the  national- 
ity of  the  children  in  the  schools." 

According  to  the  report  (1916)  of  the  California 
State  Board  of  Health  Bureau  of  Vital  Statistics, 
Japanese  children  born  in  California,  so  far  as  regis- 
tered, numbered  for  the  successive  years  since 
1906  as  follows: 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      175 

1906 134 

1907 221 

1908 455 

1909 682 

1910 719 

1911 995 

1912 1,467 

1913 2,215 

1914 2,874 

1915 3,342 

1916 3,721 

Total 16,825 

The  number  of  Japanese  children  under  fourteen 
years  of  age  admitted  to  the  United  States  (1909- 
1916),  including  Hawaii,  was  3,044,  and  the  de- 
partures to  Japan  for  the  same  period  was  1,590. 
According  to  the  census  of  1910  the  number  of 
children  fifteen  years  of  age  and  under  in  Conti- 
nental United  States  was  4,972.  From  these  vari- 
ous data,  which  have,  however,  made  no  allowances 
for  deaths,  it  is  clear  that  there  are  now  on  the 
Pacific  coast  more  than  20,000  Japanese  youth  and 
children. 

Since  1897  records  have  been  kept  of  the  occupa- 
tions of  immigrants  and  emigrants  of  the  different 
races.  A  summary  of  the  statistics  for  Japanese 
discloses  the  following  facts: 

The  total  number  of  immigrants  classified  as 
"professional"  (1897-1916)  is  5,587  and  of  "skilled" 
is  8,226.  The  number  of  immigrant  "farm  labor- 
ers" was  76,925,  of  "farmers"  19,724,  of  ordinary 


176    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

"laborers"  12,935,  and  of  "merchants"  10,729.  No 
classified  records  for  the  whole  period  of  those  de- 
parting are  available. 

Between  1909  and  1916  classification  of  occupa- 
tion of  emigrant  departures  as  well  as  of  immigrant 
arrivals  are  given. 

JAPANESE    ARRIVALS  OF   IMMIGRANTS   AND   DEPAR- 
TURES OF  EMIGRANTS  BY  OCCUPATION  (1909-1916) 


Arrivals 

Departures 

Professional 

Skilled 

Miscellaneous  (including  women 
and  children) 

2,312 

1,288 

47,783 

4,545 
643 

12,466 

Total 

51,383 

17,654 

The  reader  must  not  be  misled  by  these  figures 
into  thinking  that  the  Japanese  population  in  the 
United  States  has  increased  by  33,734,  for  this 
table  deals  only  with  immigrants  and  emigrants. 
No  statistics  of  non-immigrants  and  non-emigrants 
by  occupation  are  available. 

The  distribution  of  the  Japanese  in  the  different 
sections  of  Continental  United  States  is  disclosed 
by  the  figures  from  the  census  given  in  the  table  on 
the  opposite  page. 

If  Japanese  in  Alaska  (913),  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
(79,675),  and  elsewhere  are  included,  we  secure  a 
total  of  152,956  Japanese  living  within  the  United 
States  and  its  possessions  (not  including  the  Philip- 
pines). 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      177 

The  Commissioner  of  ImLmigration  gives  certain 
annual  statistical  reports  dealing  exclusively  with 
Japanese  and  distinguishing  between  the  Hawaiian 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  JAPANESE  POPULATION 


Census 

1880 

1890 

1900 

1910 

Total  United  States.. 

148 

2,039 

24,326 

72,157 

New  England 

Middle  Atlantic 

East  North  Central .  . 
West  North  Central .  . 

South  Atlantic 

East  South  Central. .  . 
West  South  Central.  . 
Mountain 

14 

27 

7 

1 

5 

5 

89 

45 

202 

101 

16 

55 

19 

42 

27 

1,532 

89 

446 

126 

223 

29 

7 

30 

5,107 

18,296 

272 

1,643 

482 

1,000 

156 

26 

428 

10,447 

57,703 

Pacific 

Islands  and  Continental  United  States.  There  are 
various  classifications  but  there  is  no  indication  as 
to  which  are  immigrants  and  which  are  non-immi- 
grants. These  tables  throw  important  light  on  the 
general  character  of  the  movement  of  Japanese  to 
and  from  the  United  States.  They  begin  with  1908. 
Since,  however,  the  "gentlemen's  agreement"  be- 
came effective  in  1909,  we  will  confine  our  attention 
to  the  period  1909-1916.  The  material  is  rendered 
less  valuable  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  two  different 
classifications  by  occupations  are  given,  one  prevail- 
ing for  four  years  (1908-1911)  and  the  other  for  five 
years  (1912-1916).  They  differ  so  much  that  it  is 
impossible  to  combine  their  details  for  the  entire 
period.    In  the  first  period  the  division  is  between 


178    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

laborers  and  non-laborers,  in  the  second  period  be- 
tween "professional,"  "skilled,"  "miscellaneous," 
and  others  without  occupation. 

We  present  first  the  general  summary  of  arrivals 
and  departures. 

JAPANESE  ARRIVING  AND  DEPARTING  BY 

OCCUPATION  (1909-1916) 


Continental  U.  S. 

Hawaii 

Arriving 

Depart- 
ing 

Arriyinq 

Depart- 
ing 

1909-1911 

Non-laborers 

Laborers 

7,162 
2,150 

8,796 
7,101 

934 

4,245 

2,477 
4,720 

Total 

9,312 

15,897 

5,179 

7,197 

1912-1916 
Professional 

1,929 

1,967 

20,800 

14,024 

1,511 

1,802 
23,153 

3,807 

1,160 

532 

15,119 

2,690 

345 

424 

10,024 

2,212 

Skilled 

Miscellaneous 

No  Occupation  (wo- 
men and  children). . 

Total 

38,720 
48,032 

30,273 
46,170 

19,501 
24,680 

13,005 
20,202 

Grand  total .  . . 

We  note  first  a  slight  discrepancy  between  the 
totals  given  here  and  those  given  earlier  in  this 
chapter  of  arrivals  and  departures  of  immigrants 
and  non-immigrants,  emigrants  and  non-emigrants. 
The  total  of  those  here  given  of  arrivals  in  Con- 
tinental United  States  and  Hawaii  is  72,712,  and 
departures  66,372,  giving  an  increase  of  population 
by  6,341.    There  the  arrivals  of  immigrants  and 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      179 

non-immigrants  are  given  as  73,457,  the  departures 
as  66,605,  making  the  increase  of  population  6,852, 
a  difference  of  511.  No  means  are  given  for  check- 
ing this  discrepancy. 

Note:  The  multitudinous  statistical  tables  given  by  the  Bureau 
of  Immigration  in  its  annual  reports  are  remarkably  correct  and 
tally  well  with  each  other  as  a  rule.  Yet  occasional  slips  occur. 
The  totals  of  arrivals  of  Japanese  in  Continental  U.  S.  and  in  Hawaii 
for  the  years  1913,  14,  15,  and  16  agree  as  given  in  Table  IV  and  in 
Tables  E  and  F  of  the  Immigration  Bureau  reports;  but  they  do 
not  agree  for  the  years  1909,  10,  11,  and  12.  In  these  four  years 
673  more  Japanese  were  admitted  according  to  Table  IV  than 
according  to  Tables  E  and  F  of  the  report.  To  take  a  single  year  for 
example,  consider  1912.  On  p.  70  of  the  report  for  that  year  (Table 
IV)  the  total  admission  of  Japanese  immigrants  and  non-immigrants 
is  given  at  8,574. 

According,  however,  to  Tables  E  and  F  (pp.  161  and  162)  the  total 
arrivals  were  8,589  (males,  4,261;  females,  4,328),  a  discrepancy  by 
excess  of  15. 

But  if  we  refer  to  Tables  VII  and  XIII  of  the  bureau's  reports 
(pp.  74  and  118)  for  that  year  we  find  that  4,231  males  and  4,515  fe- 
males were  admitted,  a  total  of  8,746.  The  discrepancy  between 
these  two  tables  (E  and  F  compared  with  VII  and  XIII)  is  157.  If 
totals  from  Table  IV  (8,574)  are  compared  with  totals  from  Tables 
VII  and  XIII  (8,746)  the  discrepancy  is  172. 

The  result  of  this  comparison  of  tables  for  the  year  1912  is  to  show 
that  they  may  not  be  accepted  as  exact.  The  same  applies  for  the 
years  1909,  10,  and  11.  Further  effort  to  show  the  discrepancies  will 
hardly  be  worth  while. 

According  to  the  table  before  us  the  increase  of 
population  in  Continental  United  States  by  arrivals 
over  departures  was  1,862,  while  the  increase  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  was  4,478. 

According  to  the  classification  used  between  1908- 
1911  "farmers"  and  hotel  and  restaurant  keepers 
are  classed  among  "non-laborers."  On  the  basis 
of  this  classification  while  12,665  non-laborers  en- 
tered and  11,529  departed  from  Continental  United 


180    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

States,  6,191  laborers  entered  and  9,164  departed. 
In  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  on  the  other  hand,  more 
"laborers"  entered  than  departed,  the  respective 
figures  being  9,946  and  8,248. 

For  the  period  1912-1916  the  classification  dis- 
tinguished between  professional,  skilled,  miscel- 
laneous, and  others  without  occupation  including 
women  and  children.  Of  the  two  former  classes, 
more  entered  both  divisions  than  departed,  but  in 
the  case  of  the  miscellaneous,  which  consists  largely 
of  "laborers,"  more  left  Continental  United  States 
than  arrived  (23,153  to  20,800),  while  in  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  more  entered  than  departed  (15,119  to 
10,024).  The  difference  is  particularly  marked  in 
regard  to  the  arrivals  and  departures  of  farmers, 
farm  laborers,  and  laborers  in  Continental  United 
States,  their  combined  arrivals  (1908-1916)  amount- 
ing to  16,613,  while  their  combined  departures  for 
the  same  period  amounted  to  25,066,  a  diminution, 
therefore,  of  8,453.  In  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  on  the 
contrary,  the  situation  is  quite  reversed.  There 
are  no  farmers  there  to  speak  of.  Between  1908- 
1916  the  total  arrivals  of  farm  laborers  amounted 
to  23,100,  while  their  total  departures  amounted  to 
17,436,  showing  an  increase  of  5,664. 

From  these  evidences  we  infer  that  the  Japanese 
labor  population  in  Continental  United  States  is 
distinctly  decreasing,  while  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
it  is  distinctly  increasing. 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      181 

Still  another  table  is  given  in  the  successive  annual 
reports  of  arrivals  and  departures  showing  the  num- 
ber of  applicants  for  admission  and  of  those  ad- 
mitted, debarred,  deported,  and  departed  for  the 
years  1909-1916.    Their  summary  is  heremth  given. 

JAPANESE    ADMITTED    AND    DEPARTED    TO    CONTI- 
NENTAL UNITED  STATES  AND  HAWAII  (1909-1916) 


United 

States 

Hawaii 

Total 

Applicants 

49,039 

48,032 

1,007 

899 

46,170 

25,262 

24,680 

580 

6 

20,202 

74,301 

72,712 

1,587 

905 

66,372 

Admitted 

Debarred 

Deported 

Departed 

Attention  should  be  called  to  the  distinction  be- 
tween those  debarred,  deported,  and  departed. 
Those  debarred  have  not  been  allowed  to  enter, 
while  the  deported  refers  to  those  who  have  entered 
and  for  one  reason  or  another  have  been  arrested 
and  sent  out  of  the  country.  Those  deported  are 
included  in  the  statistics  of  those  departed.  A 
comparison  of  these  figures  with  similar  figures  for 
the  Chinese  indicates  that  the  latter  suffer  from  a 
much  more  drastic  treatment  at  the  hands  of  ad- 
ministrative officials  than  do  the  Japanese. 

A  compilation  of  all  the  figures  given  by  the  Im- 
migration Bureau  as  to  immigration  to  and  emigra- 
tion from  Continental  United  States  and  Hawaii 
separately  gives  another  important   set  of  facts. 


182    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

We  learn,  for  instance,  that  between  1909  and  1916 
there  were  admitted  to  Continental  United  States 
30,465  immigrants,  while  only  11,304  emigrants 
departed,  making  an  apparent  gain  in  population 
of  19,161  instead  of  1,868,  as  shown  above.  This 
illustrates  once  more  the  fallacy  of  trying  to  balance 
immigrants  and  emigrants.  Emigrants  who  leave 
for  good  come  largely  from  non-immigrants  who 
come  to  the  United  States  for  only  a  temporary- 
visit,  while  immigrants  come  for  a  permanent  stay. 
The  bureau  does  not  give  the  statistics  similarly 
classified  of  non-immigrants  and  non-emigrants, 
distinguishing  between  Continental  United  States 
and  Hawaii.  The  figures  for  immigration  to  and 
emigration  from  Hawaii  are  20,918  and  4,960  re- 
spectively, giving  an  apparent  increase  of  popula- 
tion of  nearly  16,000,  whereas  the  real  increase  for 
this  period,  as  has  already  been  shown,  was  4,479. 

Special  statistics  are  given  by  the  bureau  showing 
various  details  bearing  on  the  "gentlemen's  agree- 
ment," and  distinguishing  between  Continental 
United  States  and  Hawaii.  From  summaries  of 
these  statistics  we  derive  the  following  facts: 

The  total  admissions  of  Japanese  of  all  classes 
to  Continental  United  States  between  1909  and  1916 
were  48,333,  of  whom  19,874  were  male  non-laborers, 
16,747  were  female  non-laborers,  9,315  were  male 
laborers,  and  2,397  were  female  laborers. 

Of  the  48,333,  18,966  were  classed  as  "former 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      183 

residents";  that  is  to  say,  those  who  had  already 
been  in  the  United  States  before;  of  these,  10,137 
were  male  non-laborers  (1,393  females)  and  7,146 
were  male  laborers  (190  females). 

Of  the  48,333,  moreover,  21,789  were  either  parents 
(289),  wives  (15,885),  or  children  (5,615)  of  former 
residents.  Of  the  females,  14,867  belonged  to  the 
"noii-laboring"  class,  while  1,962  were  classed  as 
"laborers." 

Those  recorded  as  wives  without  other  occupa- 
tion numbered  13,918  for  the  period  1911-1916,  the 
record  reaching  no  further  back. 

An  interesting  distinction  is  drawn  between  former 
residents  who  had  been  in  the  United  States  prior 
to  January  1,  1907,  and  those  who  had  been  here 
after  that  date.  A  compilation  of  those  figures 
shows  that  between  the  years  1909-1916  of  the  19,- 
697  admitted  as  former  residents,  only  762  had  re- 
sided in  the  United  States  before  1907,  while  18,- 
935  had  resided  here  since  1907.  This  shows  that 
few  of  those  who  came  to  America  before  1907  re- 
turn to  the  United  States  on  leaving  it,  while  those 
who  do  return  have  come  here  since  the  "gentle- 
men's agreement"  went  into  effect. 

There  is  an  astonishing  apparent  discrepancy 
between  the  two  figures  given  for  "former  residence," 
the  total  according  to  one  classification  being  as 
given  above,  18,966,  and  the  other  19,697.  The 
explanation  is  that,  whereas  the  former  figure  in- 


184    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

eludes  only  those  who  had  proper  passports,  the 
latter  includes  also  those  who  did  not  have  proper 
passports. 

Similar  tables  with  regard  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
give  the  following  results: 

Total  admissions  (1909-1916)  amounted  to  24,760, 
of  whom  3,243  were  male  non-laborers  and  2,505 
were  female  non-laborers,  while  7,101  were  male 
laborers  and  11,911  were  female  laborers. 

Of  these  24,760,  some  6,470  were  classed  as  former 
residents,  and  17,439  either  as  parents  (889),  wives 
(11,299),  or  children  (5,251).  Those  recorded  as 
wives,  without  other  occupation  (1911-1916),  were 
only  876,  while  the  number  of  children  admitted 
during  the  same  period  was  1,322. 

Of  those  who  were  admitted  as  former  residents 
2,251  had  resided  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  prior  to 
January  1,  1907,  while  4,317  had  resided  there  since 
1907,  giving  a  total  of  6,568.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  figures  for  former  residents  given  in  the 
preceding  paragraph  and  in  this  is  doubtless  due  to 
the  fact  that  those  in  the  former  figure  (6,470)  were 
possessed  of  proper  passports,  while  the  latter  fig- 
ure (6,568)  includes  some  who  did  not  have  proper 
passports. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  since  1906  practically  no 
Japanese  have  been  allowed  to  naturalize,  the  re- 
port of  the  census  for  1910  (vol.  I,  p.  1070)  in  re- 
gard to  the  citizenship  of  Japanese  twenty-one  years 
of  age  and  over  is  a  distinct  suiprise.     It  appears 


JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      185 

that  out  of  56,638  Japanese  of  the  specified  age,  209 
are  American-born  citizens,  while  420  have  been 
naturalized,  and  389  more  have  their  first  papers. 
The  table  shows  how  they  are  distributed  in  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country. 

The  question  is  sometimes  raised  as  to  how 
many  Japanese  would  become  citizens  were  the  op- 
portunity given  them.  Mr.  K.  K.  Kawami  dis- 
cussed the  matter  in  1907  {North  American  Review, 
vol.  185,  p.  398).  He  estimated  from  the  facts 
available  that  there  were  in  December,  1906,  about 
50,000  Japanese  males  in  the  United  States.  Of 
course  all  who  are  here  only  temporarily  would 
not  desire  citizenship,  namely,  government  officials, 
students,  day-laborers,  domestics,  etc.  Those  likely 
to  desire  citizenship  would  be  those  professional 
men,  merchants,  and  farmers  who  are  here  for  per- 
manency. But  many  even  of  them  would  not  de- 
sire it.  Many  who  desired  it,  moreover,  would  not 
be  able  to  qualify  for  lack  of  adequate  mastery  of 
English.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that  perhaps 
3,000,  or  about  6  per  cent,  of  the  men  then  in  the 
United  States  would  be  able  to  secure  it. 

Since  that  date  the  number  of  settled  families 
has  largely  increased,  being  roughly  between  20,000 
and  25,000.  Their  degree  of  Hteracy  has  been  con- 
stantly rising  and  also  their  economic  status.  No 
available  statistics  show  what  the  occupations  of 
the  married  men  are.  Very  few  of  those  who  are  not 
married  will  be  likely  to  seek  citizenship. 


186    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

Taking  the  various  factors  into  consideration,  the 
conclusion  which  I  have  reached  is  that  those  who 
are  likely  to  desire  and  who  have  the  capacity  to 
secure  naturalization  would  be  hardly  more  than 
one-third  of  the  men  having  families  in  America. 
But  this  question  will  be  considered  more  at  length 
in  the  next  chapter. 

Statistics  of  Japanese  in  the  United  States  do  not 
include  those  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  While  it  is 
no  part  of  our  purpose  to  consider  the  Japanese  and 
Chinese  situation  there,  in  view  of  wild  assertions 
often  made  of  Japanese  ambitions  and  sinister  plans 
in  regard  to  those  islands  and  of  the  large  numbers 
already  there,  the  following  figures  received  from  the 
Department  of  War  are  enlightening. 


Fiscal  Year 

Arrivals 

Departures 

1904  

2,770 

1,167 

277 

374 

381 

321 

552 

795 

632 

2,163 

1,219 

983 

1,574 

284 
827 
371 
273 
266 
269 
108 
160 
172 
824 
626 
724 
771 

1905  

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913  (18  months) 

1914 

1915 

1916 

Totals 

13,208 
5,675 

5,675 

Balance  remaining .... 

7,533 

JAPANESE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      187 

The  first  census  in  the  PhiHppines  was  taken  in 
1903,  at  which  time  there  were  921  Japanese  re- 
corded. The  total  Japanese  population,  therefore, 
of  those  islands  in  1916  was  8,454.  This  reckoning 
takes  no  account  of  births  and  deaths. 


CHAPTER  XII 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  real  Japanese  situation 
on  the  Pacific  coast  the  reader  should  not  only  know 
the  facts  in  regard  to  the  number  of  arrivals,  de- 
partures, literacy,  sex  proportions,  marital  condi- 
tions, and  similar  matters  as  given  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  but  also  their  financial  status,  their  pro- 
portions to  other  peoples,  and  particularly  the 
readiness  and  success  with  which  they  adapt  them- 
selves to  American  life.  An  entire  volume  might 
well  be  given  to  a  presentation  of  these  facts. 

We  begin  this  study  with  a  comparative  table 
that  throws  much  light  on  many  questions  concern- 
ing the  economic  situation. 

JAPANESE  FARMERS  IN  CALIFORNIA » 


Population 

Population  in  cities 

Population  on  farms 

Farmers 

Landowners 

Tenant  farmers 

Total  acreage  of  farms 

Average  acres  for  one  farmer  . 
Value  of  properties  of  farmers . 

Average  value  per  farmer 

Aggregated  farm  products .  .  . . 
Average  for  one  farmer 


Totals 


2,377,549 

1,328,057 

1,049,492 

88,197 

66,632 

18,148 

27,958,894 

317 

1,614,694,584 

$18,308 

$355,710,389 

$3,806 


Japanese 


63,761 

26,231 

37,530 

7,495 

1,093 

6,402 

300,470 

40 

$15,053,000 

$2,008 

$33,079,160 

$4,414 


Per 

Cent 


i 
2.7 

2.0 
3.6 
8.4 
1.6 

35.2 
1.1 

12.0 
0.93 

11.0 

9.0 

110.0 


*  Taken  from  the  report  of  the  Dendo  Dan,  1916. 

188 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     189 


FARM   PRODUCTS   CLASSIFIED 


Fruits 

Grapes 

Vegetables 

Potatoes 

Berries 

Beans 

Sugar-beets 

Cereals  and  hay 

Onions 

Asparagus 

Seeds 

Flowers  and  plants,  etc, 

Hops 

Rice 

Dairy  and  poultry .... 


Totals 


$87,750,000 

30,500,000 

25,850,000 

10,600,000 

1,789,314 

10,000,000 

14,000,000 

81,100,000 

2,960,000 

3,100,000 

2,500,000 

3,601,000 

4,000,000 

800,000 

53,369,389 


Japanese 


$3,801,540 

2,303,576 

9,685,145 

1,708,065 

1,652,000 

1,353,040 

1,615,510 

1,058,006 

974,855 

1,428,750 

530,850 

418,200 

290,500 

300,000 

700,000 


Particular  attention  is  drawn  to  the  following 
facts  disclosed  in  the  foregoing  table.  While  the 
Japanese  in  California  constitute  2.7  per  cent  of 
the  total  population,  a  clear  majority  lives  and  works 
in  the  country.  Of  landowners  Japanese  constitute 
only  1.6  per  cent,  while  of  tenant  farmers  they  con- 
stitute 35.2  per  cent.  The  average  value  of  the 
property  owned  by  one  farmer  in  California  is 
$18,308,  while  that  of  the  Japanese  farmer  is  only 
$2,008.  On  the  other  hand,  while  the  value  of  the 
average  production  of  one  farmer  is  $3,806,  that  of 
the  Japanese  farmer  is  $4,414. 

It  may  be  worth  noting  in  this  connection  that 
besides  Japanese  and  Americans  engaged  in  farming 
there  are  representatives  of  many  other  races  also, 


190    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

such  as  Chinese;  Mexicans,  Armenians,  Syrians,  and 
others. 

In  regard  to  the  crops,  Japanese  produce  a  large 
proportion  of  the  vegetables  ($9,685,145  out  of  a 
total  of  $25,850,000  worth),  raise  almost  the  entire 
berry  crop  ($1,652,000  out  of  $1,789,314),  and  pro- 
duce $1,428,750  worth  of  asparagus  out  of  a  total  of 
$3,100,000  worth. 

The  above  table  shows  also  those  crops  in  the  pro- 
duction of  which  Japanese  take  only  a  slight  part, 
such  as  fruits,  grapes,  cereals,  dairy  and  poultry 
products.  Evidently,  in  spite  of  their  relatively 
small  population,  Japanese  are  making  a  contribu- 
tion of  high  value  to  the  economic  prosperity  of 
California. 

We  are,  however,  primarily  interested  in  the  ques- 
tion of  Japanese  social  adaptation  to  environment. 
What  are  the  principles  and  also  what  are  the  facts  ? 

The  fundamental  principles  that  control  the 
Americanization  of  aliens  from  Europe  hold  also  in 
the  case  of  Asiatics.  The  matter  is  one  of  education. 
It  is,  indeed,  more  difficult  for  a  Japanese  or  Chi- 
nese to  master  English  than  for  a  German  or  a 
Frenchman,  and  the  process,  therefore,  of  American- 
ization so  far  as  the  intellectual  elements  are  con- 
cerned is  correspondingly  more  difficult  for  an 
Asiatic  than  for  most  Europeans.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  has  been  found  that  Japanese  are  especially 
diligent  in  learning  English,  many  of  them  surpass- 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     191 

ing  in  their  attainments  many  of  the  immigrants 
from  Europe.  Their  natural  handicap  is  in  many- 
cases  more  than  overcome  by  their  diligence  and  zeal. 

The  acquirement,  however,  of  the  emotional 
factor  in  Americanization  has  been  peculiarly  diflSi- 
cult  for  Asiatics.  Many  elements  have  combined 
in  producing  this  situation,  some  of  them  due  to  the 
social  inheritance  of  the  Asiatics  themselves;  others 
due  to  the  economic,  personal,  legislative,  and  social 
treatment  they  have  received  here.  These  elements 
have  conspired  to  prevent  the  rise  of  those  feelings 
of  harmony,  sympathy,  and  unity  of  the  Asiatic 
alien  with  the  American  community  and  the  nation 
which  are  essential  to  loyalty  and  to  patriotism. 

In  spite,  nevertheless,  of  intellectual,  emotional, 
and  even  legal  obstacles,  the  processes  of  American- 
ization have  been  going  on  among  Asiatics  in  Amer- 
ica. These  facts  of  actual  experience  should  be 
widely  known,  for  they  throw  highly  important  light 
on  the  problems  we  are  studying  in  this  volume. 

Let  us  first  consider  what  has  actually  been  taking 
place  among  thousands  of  Japanese  adults. 

The  argument  commonly  urged  is  that  Japanese 
not  only  do  not  wish  to  become  American  citizens, 
but  that  they  could  not  do  so  even  if  for  selfish  or 
economic  reasons  they  might  wish  to.  For  a  Japa- 
nese, it  is  urged,  is  so  devotedly  loyal  to  his  Emperor, 
whom  he  venerates  and  even  worships,  that  it  is  not 
conceivable  that  he  could  desire  to  give  up  that 


192    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

loyalty.  That  this  idea  is  widely  accepted  is  due 
not  only  to  American  writers  but  also  to  Japanese. 
Japanese  loyalty  is  iudeed  world-famed.  It  has 
been  idealized  by  brilliant  writers  in  such  terms  as 
to  leave  the  impression  that  it  is  unique,  sui  generis, 
the  like  of  which  is  to  be  found  in  no  other  land. 
Japanese  patriotism  is  often  conceived  as  a  biological 
trait.  It  is  regarded  as  inherited  by  birth,  predeter- 
mined for  each  person  by  his  heredity  as  is  the  slant 
of  his  eye  and  the  color  of  his  hair.  It  is,  therefore, 
so  they  argue,  biologically  as  well  as  psychologically 
impossible  for  a  Japanese  to  abandon  his  loyalty  to 
Japan  and  become  in  reality  a  loyal  American. 

That  this  view  should  be  widely  held  is  by  no 
means  strange,  for  many  facts  seem  to  support  it. 
It  is,  nevertheless,  an  error.  It  is  due  in  part  to 
insufficient  knowledge  and  in  part  to  faulty  theories 
of  biology  and  psychology.  Patriotism  is,  as  can 
be  abundantly  shown,  a  postnatal,  intellectual- 
emotional  affair;  it  is  in  no  sense  whatsoever  a 
matter  of  biogenics.  The  assertion,  therefore,  that 
no  Japanese  could  possibly  desire  to  expatriate 
himself  and  become  a  citizen  of  an  alien  land  is 
faulty  in  theory  and  as  we  shall  soon  see  refuted 
by  facts. 

When  Japanese  laborers  first  came  to  the  United 
States,  they  of  course  did  not  come  as  immigrants 
with  wives  and  children,  planning  to  settle  perma- 
nently in  the  new  land.    They  came  rather  as  ad- 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST      193 

venturers,  to  earn  money  in  a  land  where  labor  is 
scarce  and  wages  high.  They  had  no  knowledge 
of  the  English  language,  nor  of  American  customs. 
They  followed  the  laws  of  demand  and  supply  in 
the  labor  market;  they  worked  in  the  fields,  on  the 
railroads,  in  the  laundries,  as  cooks  and  servants, 
and  wherever  they  could  earn  good  wages.  Being  all 
young  men,  free  adventurers,  they  roved  from  place 
to  place,  without  sense  of  responsibility.  They 
came  to  America  with  the  definite  expectation  of 
returning  sooner  or  later  to  their  native  homes  with 
accumulated  wealth.  Frequent  clash  with  em- 
ployers, some  of  whom  they  found  unreasonable,  and 
others  at  their  mercy,  was  a  natural  result  of  these 
conditions.  Contracts  were  broken,  strikes  were 
sprung  on  employers,  obligations  were  ignored,  and 
many  an  unfair  advantage  taken  by  Japanese  labor 
bosses  and  gangs.  Immoral  conditions,  moreover, 
could  not  fail  to  develop. 

And  yet  these  undoubtedly  true  statements  de- 
rogatory to  Japanese  should  not  be  made  without 
also  pointing  out  the  fact  that  white  employers  not 
infrequently  took  advantage  of  the  Japanese;  ex- 
orbitant prices  were  often  charged  for  leases  and  for 
land;  Japanese  were  tricked  in  horse  trades;  con- 
tracts outrageously  unfair  were  frequently  presented 
which  the  trustful  Japanese,  who  could  not  read  nor 
understand,  would,  nevertheless,  sign.  The  stories 
told  by  Americans  of  Japanese  wrong-doing  are  well 


194    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

matched  by  the  stories  of  American  wrong-doing 
told  by  Japanese.  It  is  probably  impossible  to 
strike  a  balance.  But  it  is  not  necessary.  Both 
sides  were  at  fault  and  had  much  to  learn. 

But  we  should  now  add  with  great  emphasis  that 
on  both  sides  there  were  many  honorable  men  who 
sought  to  deal  justly  and  honestly  with  each  other. 
Without  question  there  were  real  difficulties,  due  to 
differences  of  race,  of  language,  and  of  customs. 
Each  side,  without  intention  of  wrong,  often  did 
things  in  perfect  innocence  that  appeared  over- 
reaching and  deceitful  to  the  other.  The  rascals 
were  doubtless  a  minority.  There  were,  however, 
enough  scamps  on  both  sides  of  the  race  fence  to 
create  a  situation  of  great  irritation  and  of  real 
diflSculty,  each  side  having  no  small  amount  of  fact 
and  right  in  its  statement  of  grievances. 

Under  these  conditions  it  was  inevitable  that 
anti-Japanese  feeling  and  agitation  should  develop. 
Reasons  for  it,  some  good  and  some  bad,  would 
be  assigned.  A  common  charge  has  been  that  Japa- 
nese are  "undesirable,"  that  they  do  not  come  as 
immigrants  with  wives  and  children  to  settle  down, 
lead  responsible  lives,  and  become  regular  Americans 
as  do  immigrants  from  Europe.  Another  charge 
widely  urged  has  been  that  Japanese  are  "non- 
assimilable." Among  intelligent  and  responsible 
Americans  grave  doubts  began  to  arise  as  to  what 
might  happen.    All  agreed  that  Japanese  immigra- 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     195 

tion  should  in  some  way  be  stopped.  Serious  con- 
sideration was  being  given  by  Americans  to  the 
needful  legislation  when,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned,  an  offer  was  made  by  the  Japanese  Gov- 
ernment (1907)  known  as  the  "gentlemen's  agree- 
ment." By  it  Japan,  recognizing  the  real  difficulty 
that  was  arising  in  California,  agreed  to  stop  her 
labor  immigration  to  the  United  States.  The  sta- 
tistics already  presented  show  how  that  immigra- 
tion had  been  growing  apace,  and  how  effectively 
it  has  been  restrained  by  the  faithful  administra- 
tion of  the  "gentlemen's  agreement"  on  the  part  of 
the  Japanese  Government,  without  any  legislation 
on  our  part. 

A  new  period,  therefore,  in  American-Japanese 
relations  began  in  1909.  Relatively  few  new  Japa- 
nese have  come  to  enter  into  competition  with 
Americans.  As  has  been  shown  with  much  detail, 
many  have  in  this  period  returned  to  Japan.  The 
new  conditions  have  brought  important  changes  in 
the  mutual  attitude  of  Japanese  and  Americans. 
They  have  been  learning  important  lessons  in  mutual 
adjustment  and  co-operation.  The  strain  of  in- 
creasing diflSiculties  has  passed. 

We  are  concerned  in  this  chapter,  however,  par- 
ticularly with  that  which  the  Japanese  have  been 
learning.  Many  thousands  of  them  have  been  here 
ten  or  twelve  years.  When  the  tide  of  Japanese 
immigration  stopped,  the  scale  of  wages  paid  to 


196    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

Japanese  began  to  rise  until  now  they  earn  prac- 
tically the  same  as  white  men.  In  some  kinds  of 
work  for  which  they  are  particularly  fitted  they 
actually  earn  more  than  white  men. 

With  their  lengthening  stay,  moreover,  they  are 
losing  their  early  dreams  of  making  a  fortune  in  a 
few  years.  They  are  learning  that  they  must  work 
long  and  hard,  diligently  and  honorably,  if  they  are 
really  to  succeed.  This  has  led  to  a  rather  important 
sifting  out  of  the  reckless,  the  improvident,  the  im- 
pulsive, and  the  irresponsible;  these  classes  have 
been  returning  steadily  to  Japan,  while  the  more 
faithful,  successful,  and  responsible  ones  are  holding 
on. 

Many  thousands,  moreover,  who  have  acquired 
property  and  a  bank-account  have,  during  the  past 
few  years,  returned  to  their  native  land  for  a 
visit.  Before  coming  to  America  they  had  hved, 
not  only  on  a  lowly  scale  of  life,  but  under  conditions 
of  severe  social  as  well  as  political  pressure.  The 
family  system,  the  police  surveillance,  the  heavy 
taxation,  their  treatment  as  inferiors  by  fellow  Japa- 
nese of  higher  social  rank,  and  their  exceedingly 
limited  economic  opportunity — these  early  experi- 
ences vividly  recalled  and  somewhat  experienced 
on  their  return  to  Japan,  aU  in  such  contrast  with 
their  years  of  freedom,  opportunity,  and  fairly  equal 
treatment  in  the  United  States,  soon  produced  in 
the  breasts  of  many  a  revulsion  against  life  and  con- 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST      197 

ditions  in  Japan  and  growing  appreciation  of 
America  and  its  customs,  ideals,  and  government. 
In  a  word,  quite  unconsciously  to  themselves  a  proc- 
ess of  Americanization  had  been  going  on  during 
their  years  of  American  life  the  results  of  which  first 
came  clearly  to  consciousness  on  their  return  to 
Japan. 

These  considerations  and  influences  have  led 
thousands  to  the  determination  to  make  America 
their  permanent  home  and  the  home  of  their  chil- 
dren. On  returning  to  America  they  have  brought 
their  wives  and  children  with  them,  if  they  were 
already  married,  or  have  sent  for  them  as  soon  as 
they  could  arrange  for  it  after  reaching  America. 
If  they  were  not  married  they  either  married  and 
took  their  brides  with  them  to  America  or,  after 
returning  to  the  United  States,  they  soon  sent  for  a 
wife  selected  by  the  parents.  This  new  attitude 
and  spirit  has  taken  hold  also  of  thousands  not  so 
well  off.  Though  unable  to  return  to  Japan  for  a 
visit,  they  have  decided  to  settle  down  permanently 
in  America.  They  too  have  made  arrangements  for 
the  coming  of  young  women  to  be  their  wives.  As 
this  is  done  with  the  aid  of  photographs,  the  securing 
of  wives  in  this  way  is  often  called  the  "picture- 
bride"  movement. 

This  change  of  mind  has  profoundly  transformed 
both  the  spirit  and  the  character  of  large  numbers 
of  Japanese  in  America  as  well  as  that  of  those  now 


198    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

coming  here.  They  are  here  for  relatively  perma- 
nent residence.  They  now  desire  to  become  thor- 
oughly adapted  to  their  new  life  and  opportunities. 
Many  are  studying  English  zealously. 

There  are  already,  as  we  have  shown,  many  thou- 
sand Japanese  families.  Already  many  thousand 
Japanese  children  are  beginning  to  attend  Ameri- 
can schools  in  every  section  of  the  Pacific  coast. 
Japanese  men  by  marrying  and  rearing  families  have 
"given  hostages  to  fortune."  It  makes  them  more 
responsible;  they  must  settle  down  and  accumulate 
property. 

A  better  understanding,  moreover,  is  developing 
in  the  mutual  relations  of  American  and  Japanese 
labor.  Not  a  few  events  have  happened  in  Cali- 
fornia during  the  past  three  years  that  indicate  these 
changes  in  attitude.  For  many  years  the  relations 
between  the  American  and  Japanese  restaurants  and 
waiters  were  far  from  pleasant.  As  the  result,  how- 
ever, of  much  quiet  work  the  following  amazing  thing 
happened.  When  the  union  waiters  went  out  on 
strike  (August,  1916),  all  the  Japanese  waiters  did 
the  same,  although  they  were  not  members  of  the 
union.  And,  still  more  surprising,  the  restaurants 
were  unable  to  employ  any  Japanese  as  strike-break- 
ers! This  loyalty  of  the  Japanese  has  overcome 
many  misunderstandings  and  animosities,  and  has 
started  a  new  spirit  in  the  relations  of  organized 
labor  to  Japanese  labor. 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST      199 

Another  fact.  Mr.  Scharrenberg,  secretary  of  the 
Cahfornia  State  Federation  of  Labor,  stated  (Sep- 
tember, 1916)  in  the  San  Francisco  Central  Labor 
Council  that  he  felt  that  the  time  had  come  for  a 
more  liberal  attitude  toward  the  Japanese  and  sug- 
gested that  the  time  might  soon  come  when  they 
would  be  received  into  the  unions. 

The  causes  for  this  improvement  may  be  suggested 
in  a  few  words.  First  of  all,  Japanese  themselves 
are  learning  American  ways  and  the  English  lan- 
guage, as  we  have  already  noted  above.  Then, 
many  excellent  people  in  California,  both  Americans 
and  Japanese,  have  been  exerting  themselves  in  many 
little  yet  effective  ways  to  correct  the  mistakes  and 
misunderstandings  of  the  past.  We  must  also  men- 
tion the  splendid  way  in  which  Japan  did  her  part 
to  make  the  Panama  Pacific  Exposition  successful, 
that  spared  neither  effort  nor  expense,  and  that 
effectually  introduced  Japan  to  multitudes  of  Cali- 
fornians  who  had  had  no  conception  of  Japan's  real 
place  among  the  civilized  nations. 

But  what  is  perhaps  the  most  important  factor 
making  for  understanding  and  more  friendly  rela- 
tions between  American  and  Japanese  labor  was  the 
coming  to  this  country  in  the  summer  of  1915  of 
two  Japanese  labor  delegates,  Messrs.  Suzuki  and 
Yoshimatsu.  The  first  suggestion  for  an  exchange 
of  fraternal  delegates  by  American  and  Japanese 
labor  was  made  to  the  writer  in  November,  1914,  by 


200     DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

Mr.  Scharrenberg.  The  suggestion  was  taken  to 
Japan  by  the  writer  early  in  1915,  and  the  delegates 
arrived  in  San  Francisco  in  July  of  that  year.  They 
were  accepted  and  seated  by  the  California  State 
Federation  of  Labor,  and  were  given  opportunity  to 
speak  in  many  Central  Labor  Councils  throughout 
the  State. 

They  also  attended  the  Convention  of  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labor  held  that  year  in  San 
Francisco  (November,  1915).  At  that  time  Mr. 
Shima  gave  a  dinner  at  which  the  two  delegates 
from  Japan,  with  President  Gompers  and  Secretary 
Scharrenberg,  were  the  special  guests  of  honor — the 
first  time  that  the  official  leaders  of  American  and 
Japanese  labor  had  ever  sat  down  to  a  common  meal 
and  exchanged  friendly  greetings.  It  was  on  that 
occasion  that  one  of  the  leaders  of  organized  labor  in 
San  Francisco,  Mr.  McArthur,  made  the  humorous 
but  significant  remark  to  Mr.  Suzuki:  "The  more 
I  see  of  you  the  less  you  look  like  a  Jap." 

The  results  of  that  four  months'  adventure  of 
Japanese  labor  delegates  in  California  were  so  satis- 
factory that  the  following  year  (September,  1916) 
Mr.  Suzuki  came  again,  this  time  attending  also 
the  annual  convention  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  held  at  Baltimore.  He  brought  with  him 
from  Japan  invitations  to  Secretary  Scharrenberg 
and  President  Gompers  to  visit  Japan  as  fraternal 
delegates !    The  letters  which  he  brought  are  of  his- 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     201 

toric  interest  because  of  the  fact  that  they  were  the 
first  official  communications  of  Japanese  labor  to 
American  labor,  and  also  because  of  their  remark- 
able contents.  It  is  a  misfortune  that  they  have  not 
received  more  public  attention.  On  account  of  the 
war,  it  is  natural  that  neither  of  these  invitations 
coiild  be  accepted.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that 
in  due  time  both  Mr.  Scharrenberg  and  President 
Gompers  will  visit  Japan  as  fraternal  delegates  from 
the  national  and  State  organizations  of  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labor  to  the  labor  of  Japan  both 
unorganized  and  organized. 

Particularly  effective  evidence  of  improving  re- 
lations were  the  four  resolutions  offered  by  as  many 
different  labor  unions  at  the  California  State  Federa- 
tion annual  convention  (October,  1916)  proposing 
to  authorize  the  organization  of  Japanese  in  the 
unions.  The  resolutions  were  referred  to  the  execu- 
tive committee  for  full  consideration. 

Mr.  Suzuki's  welcome  at  the  annual  convention 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  held  at  Balti- 
more, in  November,  1916,  was  also  a  notable  event. 
His  address  was  repeatedly  interrupted  by  applause. 
Mr.  Scharrenberg  raised  the  money  for  a  memento 
presented  to  Mr.  Suzuki  on  behalf  of  the  Federation 
by  President  Gompers.  It  was  a  diamond-studded 
gold  watch-fob  with  a  suitable  inscription. 

Mr.  Suzuki  also  attended  as  a  fraternal  delegate 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  International  Seamen's 


202    DEMOCRACY   AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

Union  of  America,  and  was  presented  with  a  hand- 
some gold  medal. 

On  December  17,  1916,  the  New  York  Tribune 
devoted  a  full  page  in  large  type  to  a  description  of 
Mr.  Suzuki  and  his  work.  His  photograph  was  en- 
titled, "The  Gompers  of  Japan,"  while  that  of 
President  Gompers  was  entitled,  "The  Suzuki  of 
America,"  and  between  them  was  a  composite 
photograph  of  the  two,  a  man  handsomer,  brainier, 
and  more  forceful  than  either ! 

"I  used  to  think  that  danger  might  sometime 
threaten  us  from  across  the  Pacific,  but  since  meeting 
the  fraternal  delegates  from  Japan  to  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  I  am  convinced  that  the  workers 
of  Japan  do  not  want  war  with  us  any  more  than 
the  workers  of  America  want  war  with  them." 

These  are  words  of  great  significance,  seeing  that 
they  were  spoken  in  San  Francisco  (September, 
1916)  by  Mr.  Scharrenberg,  secretary  of  the  Cali- 
fornia State  Federation  of  Labor,  before  an  audience 
of  more  than  4,000  who  cheered  him  heartily. 

A  sign  of  the  new  situation  perhaps  as  significant 
as  any  is  the  fact  that  the  "Legislative  Programme" 
of  the  California  State  Federation  of  Labor  for  the 
winter  (1916-1917),  for  the  first  time  in  many  years 
made  no  reference  whatever  to  Asiatic  problems. 
This,  of  course,  is  not  to  be  interpreted  as  showing 
any  diminution  in  their  opposition  to  free  immigra- 
tion, but  only  as  indicating  a  better  understanding 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     203 

of  the  effects  of  the  "gentlemen's  agreement"  and  a 
better  attitude  toward  Japanese  now  in  the  country. 

Still  another  evidence  of  the  new  Spirit  arising  in 
California  may  be  found  in  connection  with  the  use 
of  the  public  tennis-courts  in  Oakland.  If  Japa- 
nese presumed  to  hold  a  court  when  Americans 
wanted  it,  difficulty  was  sure  to  arise,  harsh  words 
and  looks  would  be  hurled  at  them,  and  occasionally 
even  stone-throwing  was  resorted  to.  This  was  the 
situation  five  years  ago.  According  to  my  inform- 
ant, that  situation  has  quite  thoroughly  changed. 
Japanese  tennis-players  now  enjoy  the  same  op- 
portunity and  treatment  as  others.  Though  only  a 
straw,  it  tells  an  important  story  of  change  in  the 
popular  attitude. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1917  several 
Japanese  missions,  embassies,  and  committees  came 
to  the  United  States.  It  seems  that  the  parliamen- 
tary mission,  of  which  Doctor  T.  Masao  was  chief, 
felt  some  anxiety  before  reaching  California  as  to  how 
they  would  be  received  and  treated,  particularly  in 
California.  The  experiences  of  Japanese  in  former 
years  in  California  still  reverberate  in  Japan.  Even 
eminent  visitors  from  Japan  have  on  occasion  been 
subjected  to  insult  and  humiliation. 

This  parliamentary  mission,  however,  much  to 
their  satisfaction,  received  nothing  but  the  most 
cordial  treatment  wherever  they  went.  In  no  city 
of  the  United  States  was  their  reception  more  friendly 


204    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

than  in  San  Francisco.  While  a  suitable  welcome 
was  to  have  been  expected  from  State  and  city  offi- 
cials, and  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  San 
Francisco,  the  representatives  of  organized  labor 
were  hardly  expected  to  show  the  same  manifesta- 
tions of  cordial  good-will.  Such,  however,  was  the 
case. 

Mr.  George  Shima,  popularly  known  as  the  Japa- 
nese "Potato  King,"  gave  a  dinner  to  the  mission, 
which  several  representatives  of  organized  labor 
also  attended.  According  to  the  statement  of 
Doctor  Masao,  the  frank  conference  which  there 
took  place  in  regard  to  Japanese  labor  in  California 
and  in  Japan,  and  as  to  methods  for  meeting  such 
difficulties  as  still  remain  in  the  economic  competi- 
tion of  Japanese  with  American  labor,  was  exceed- 
ingly satisfactory  to  all  concerned.  At  that  con- 
ference Mr.  Murphy,  president  of  the  California 
State  Federation  of  Labor,  was  present  and  also 
Mr.  Scharrenberg,  its  secretary-treasurer,  "  the  man 
behind  the  throne." 

So  cordial  were  the  relations  established,  that  an 
official  letter  of  introduction  for  the  entire  mission 
to  Mr.  Samuel  Gompers,  president  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor,  and  the  other  officers  at  Wash- 
ington, was  given  them  by  Mr.  Scharrenberg  on 
behalf  of  the  California  State  Federation. 

On  their  arrival  in  Washington,  the  executive 
council  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  was 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     205 

in  session.  President  Gompers  took  the  opportunity 
to  introduce  the  entire  parliamentary  mission  to 
the  entire  executive  council,  on  which  occasion 
again  frank  and  friendly  addresses  were  made  on 
both  sides,  and  further  progress  was  attained  in 
mutual  understanding  and  good-will. 

Members  of  the  special  war  mission  from  Japan, 
of  which  Viscount  Ishi  was  head,  also  reported  the 
same  unexpectedly  cordial  and  delightful  welcome 
on  their  arrival  at  San  Francisco. 

These  encouraging  signs  of  a  better  attitude,  how- 
ever, should  not  make  Americans  feel  that  all  prob- 
lems have  been  solved.  Not  until  immigration  and 
naturalization  laws  are  placed  on  a  universal  basis, 
free  from  humiliating  race  discrimination,  shall  we 
reach  a  fundamental  solution  of  the  problem  of  our 
relations  with  Japan  and  China. 

Of  the  Japanese  now  in  America,  however,  how 
many  would  become  American  citizens  were  the 
opportunity  given  them?  Some  Americans  assume 
that  all  would  do  so  immediately,  and,  as  "they 
would  surely  vote  in  a  solid  body  and  for  their  own 
race  interests,  the  evils  of  giving  them  the  suffrage 
would  be  serious,"  they  argue. 

This  matter  has  received  attention  on  each  of 
my  visits  to  the  Pacific  coast.  My  conclusions  are 
about  as  follows:  There  are  in  Continental  United 


206    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

States,  roughly  speaking,  about  35,000  women  and 
young  children.  Of  the  men,  only  those  who  have 
considerable  education,  who  have  acquired  property 
and  families  and  have  definitely  made  up  their 
minds  to  stay  permanently  here  would  desire  to 
secure  citizenship;  in  other  words,  only  those  who 
have  something  at  stake  and  occupy  positions  of 
responsibility. 

Of  those  who  would  desire  citizenship  quite  a  pro- 
portion would  probably  be  unable  to  secure  it  be- 
cause of  insufficient  mastery  of  the  English  language. 
This  would  apply  particularly  to  the  women.  It  is 
not  a  difficult  matter  to  get  a  smattering  of  English; 
but  for  a  Japanese  to  get  enough  to  read  readily 
the  daily  paper  and  to  converse  freely  with  Ameri- 
cans, is  a  matter  of  great  difficulty,  which  only  a 
small  proportion  of  the  Japanese  in  America  could 
accomplish.  If  out  of  the  60,000  Japanese  men  in 
Continental  United  States  more  than  10,000  would 
be  able  to  qualify  linguistically  for  citizenship 
within  five  years,  it  would  be  surprising.  In  con- 
sidering this  matter  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  of 
the  Japanese  in  America  tens  of  thousands  have  only 
limited  education  in  their  own  language;  they  are 
not  students,  and  do  not  have  the  habits  of  mind 
necessary  for  the  mastery  of  English. 

The  question  will,  of  course,  be  raised  by  some 
whether  or  not  Japanese  who  might  qualify  linguis- 
tically would  make  loyal  Americans.    Only  experi- 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     207 

ence  can  confirm  or  disprove  the  suspicions  and  the 
assertions  of  critics.  I  may,  however,  record  my 
behef  that  Japanese  and  Chinese  would  make  just 
as  loyal  American  citizens  as  we  receive  from  any 
other  land.  The  Japanese  would,  I  believe,  rank 
especially  high  in  matters  of  loyalty,  since  their 
moral  education  for  centuries  has  been  along  the 
lines  of  loyalty.  When  once  they  have  deliberately 
and  legally  severed  their  political  obligations  to 
Japan  and  have  openly  declared  their  adoption  of 
America  as  the  object  of  loyalty,  I  beheve  that  their 
loyalty  would  be  genuine  and  effective. 

An  illustration  which  Japanese  themselves  often 
use  in  discussing  this  matter  is  drawn  from  the 
political  conditions  of  Old  Japan  when  the  country- 
was  divided  into  eighty-odd  clans,  each  claiming  the 
undivided  loyalty  of  its  people.  The  practical  ques- 
tion not  seldom  arose  as  to  the  duty  of  a  man  who 
married  into  another  clan;  in  case  of  war  should  he 
fight  for  the  clan  in  which  he  was  born,  or  for  the 
clan  into  which  he  had  married  ?  The  old  morahsts 
taught  that,  however  his  heart  might  shrink,  it  was 
his  moral  obligation  to  fight  for  the  clan  in  which  he 
was  living  and  which  had  adopted  him  as  one  of  its 
members.  In  this  way  he  would  prove  to  his  adopted 
clan  the  noble  quality  of  the  manhood  of  the  clan  in 
which  he  was  bom.  Similarly,  they  say,  a  Japanese 
who  has  been  adopted  into  the  national  life  of 
America  by  naturaUzation  should  and  would  be 


208    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

loyal  to  his  new  obligations,  even  if  in  so  doing  he 
should  be  compelled  to  fight  against  the  land  of  his 
birth. 

This  question  has  been  frequently  discussed  in 
Japanese  papers  during  the  past  six  or  eight  years. 
For  Japanese  leaders  of  thought  have  come  to  realize 
that  their  earnest  plea  for  equality  of  treatment  for 
Japanese  in  America  with  that  given  to  Em-opean 
immigrants  cannot  properly  be  heeded  unless  Japa- 
nese prove  themselves  capable  of  becoming  true 
and  loyal  Americans,  as  do  immigrants  from  other 
lands. 

Those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  facts  often  assert 
that  the  laws  of  Japan  forbid  expatriation.  This 
is,  however,  a  complete  misunderstanding.  The 
constitution  of  Japan,  proclaimed  in  1889,  made  pro- 
vision for  it.  Legislation,  moreover,  has  been  re- 
cently enacted  (February,  1916)  providing  for  the 
surrender  of  Japanese  citizenship  by  Japanese  chil- 
dren born  abroad.  By  the  American  law,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  children  of  aliens  born  in  America 
are  American  citizens  by  the  mere  fact  of  birth  here. 
This  feature  of  the  American  law  gives  double  citi- 
zenship to  children  of  aliens  of  every  race  if  only 
they  are  born  in  America.  Now  Japan's  recent  law 
provides  that  Japanese  children,  by  the  act  of  their 
parents,  or  of  their  guardians,  may  declare  their 
choice  of  American  citizenship  and  may  thereby  for- 
swear their  allegiance  to  Japan. 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     209 

On  the  morning  of  the  very  day  when  this  law 
was  enacted  the  report  was  pubhshed  in  the  metro- 
pohtan  papers  of  Tokyo  of  addresses  made  by 
Hawaiian-born  Japanese  young  men  in  celebration 
of  Washington's  birthday,  declaring  their  American 
citizenship  and  their  obligations  to  the  United 
States,  which  they  would  loyally  perform,  even  at 
the  cost  of  fighting  against  Japan  if  need  should 
arise.  The  proposed  law  was,  nevertheless,  passed 
imanimously  by  the  Upper  House,  noted  for  its 
conservatism. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit  to  Japan  with  Doctor 
ShaUer  Mathews,  representing  the  Federal  Council 
of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America  (February, 
1915),  I  made  frequent  inquiry  of  Japanese  leaders 
whether  or  not  the  nation  would  regard  with  equa- 
nimity the  expatriation  of  thousands  of  Japanese  in 
America  should  the  privileges  of  naturahzation  be 
given  them.  The  unanimous  reply  was  that  a  dec- 
ade ago  such  a  proposal  would  have  been  received 
with  storms  of  disapproval,  but  that  Japan  had  come 
to  see  that  if  Japanese  citizens  with  their  families 
are  going  to  remain  permanently  in  foreign  lands, 
in  order  to  establish  and  maintain  right  relations 
with  the  people  and  government,  naturalization  in 
those  lands  with  the  surrender  of  Japanese  citizen- 
ship would  be  essential  and  would  not  be  resented. 
Doubtless  there  still  remain  some  bigoted  patriots 
in  Japan  who  would  regard  expatriation  as  treason, 


210    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

but  the  number  I  was  assured  was  small  and  con- 
stantly diminishing. 

In  refutation  of  the  notion  that  all  Japanese  are 
inevitably,  necessarily,  and  eternally  loyal  to  their 
Emperor,  who  is  venerated  and,  some  insist,  is  wor- 
shipped as  deity,  I  may  refer  to  the  mortifying  dis- 
covery of  the  police  some  eight  years  ago  of  a  plot 
to  assassinate  the  Emperor!  Forty  persons  were 
implicated  in  the  plot,  of  whom  24  were  convicted, 
12  suffering  capital  punishment  and  12  life  im- 
prisonment. 

Some  Japanese  in  America  are  very  earnest  in  their 
desire  for  privileges  of  citizenship.  Several  thou- 
sand Japanese  live  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
most  of  whom  have  secured  high-school  and  many  of 
them  college  education  in  America.  Not  a  few  of 
them  have  married  American  wives  and  are  rearing 
families  essentially  American.  Their  years  of  life 
here  have  largely  severed  them  from  Japan.  Were 
they  to  return  to  their  native  land  they  would  find  it 
difficult  to  establish  fresh  and  satisfactory  relations 
with  their  kindred  and  their  people,  and  many  of 
them  would  find  it  diflScult  even  to  make  a  living. 
Now  the  sense  of  being  "without  a  country"  is 
highly  unpleasant  to  any  one  and  especially  to  a 
Japanese.  Such  Japanese  desire  accordingly  to 
acquire  American  citizenship.  I  well  remember  a 
dinner  of  welcome  given  me  recently  by  a  score  of 
Japanese  in  a  large  American  city,  about  one-half 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     211 

of  them  being  permanent  residents  of  that  city. 
One  of  the  subjects  discussed  in  the  after-dinner 
speeches  was  that  of  American  citizenship.  Of  the 
speakers  one  was  particularly  vehement  in  his  plea 
that  I  should  explain  the  real  reasons  why  America 
refuses  citizenship  to  Japanese.  With  tears  in  his 
eyes  he  told  of  his  life  in  America  of  more  than  a 
score  of  years.  In  education,  in  heart,  in  ideals, 
in  business,  and  in  family  relations  (his  wife  is  an 
American  and  also  his  children)  he  was  really  and 
truly  an  American,  yet  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
take  the  legal  step  that  is  allowed  to  men  of  other 
races  and  become  in  the  full  and  official  sense  an 
American  and  be  recognized  as  such. 

If  Americanization  of  Japanese  has  been  taking 
place  in  spite  of  many  artificial  obstacles,  what  would 
the  result  be  were  wholesome  conditions  provided 
with  educational  facilities  and  assurance  of  wel- 
come and  citizenship  to  those  who  quaHfy?  Can 
there  be  any  doubt  ?  No  small  part  of  the  difficulty 
has  been  created  by  those  who  have  regarded  the 
problem  as  racial  rather  than  as  economic  and  moral. 
Advantage  has  been  taken  of  the  fact  that  Japanese 
are  refused  privileges  of  citizenship  to  make  them, 
in  certain  States,  the  butt  of  race  agitation  and  legis- 
lation. This  has  of  course  increased  the  race  feel- 
ing on  both  sides.  Under  such  circumstances,  is  it 
strange  if  not  many  Japanese  have  developed  en- 
thusiasm for  America? 


212     DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

And  is  it  not  highly  irrational  to  denounce  Japa- 
nese for  not  developing  American  loyalty  and  pa- 
triotism when  the  conditions  under  which  they  live 
are  so  utterly  unsuited  for  its  development  ?  Should 
the  conditions  be  changed  and  citizenship  with  all 
its  privileges  be  granted  to  those  who  qualify  re- 
gardless of  race,  the  sentimental  temperament  of 
the  Japanese  would  unquestionably  respond  to  the 
new  situation  and  an  exuberance  of  patriotic  Amer- 
icanism appear  that  would  astonish  pessimistic 
critics  of  Japanese  character. 

Thus  far  our  attention  has  been  directed  to  the 
Americanization  of  adult  Japanese.  But  we  must 
consider  the  case  also  of  the  American-born  Japa- 
nese children.  It  may  be  stated  at  once  that  their 
complete  Americanization  differs  in  no  respect 
from  the  Americanization  of  children  of  other  races. 
All  turns  upon  the  education  they  receive,  not  upon 
their  biological  heredity.  Japanese  children  attend 
American  schools  and  are  taught  by  American  teach- 
ers. They  develop  American  ideas,  speak  the  Eng- 
lish language,  play  with  American  children,  and  be- 
come just  as  thoroughly  familiar  with  and  controlled 
by  American  ideals  as  are  the  children  of  other  races. 
Experience  in  these  matters  is  only  just  beginning 
in  California.  In  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  however, 
the  American  education  of  Japanese  children  has 
been  going  on  for  some  years;  the  results  are  now 
begimiing  to  appear,  which  we  shall  consider  in  the 
following  chapter. 


SITUATION  ON  THE  Px\CIFIC  COAST     213 

In  the  Americanization  of  American-born  Japa- 
nese an  important  factor  is  of  course  the  spirit  and 
atmosphere  of  the  Japanese  home.  If  the  treatment 
received  by  the  parents  makes  them  bitter  toward 
America,  it  can  hardly  fail  to  interfere  with  the 
wholesome  Americanization  of  the  children.  It  can 
hardly  fail  to  distm-b  the  emotional  factor  of  the 
process.  If  Japanese  children  in  America,  though 
citizens  by  birth,  are  made  to  feel  that  their  people 
are  not  given  fair  treatment,  merely  because  they 
are  Japanese,  is  there  not  danger  that  when  they 
grow  to  adult  life  and  become  voters  they  may 
themselves  become  the  objects  of  unfriendly  treat- 
ment, develop  resentment,  and  constitute  a  solid 
race  group  not  fully  Americanized  nor  properly  in- 
corporated into  our  national  life  ?  The  danger,  and 
also  evil,  of  such  a  situation  is  self-evident.  Who 
will  be  responsible  for  such  an  unfortunate  condi- 
tion? 

Those  who  would  refuse  citizenship  to  Asiatics 
need  to  remember  that  it  is  impossible  now  to  ex- 
clude from  our  land  those  Asiatics  already  here. 
They  are  here  and  they  are  here  to  stay.  Their 
children  are  here  and  they  have  the  right  to  vote 
as  soon  as  they  reach  their  twenty-first  birthday. 
The  problem,  therefore,  is  this:  Are  we  going  to 
treat  those  Asiatics  who  are  here  in  such  ways  as  to 
diminish  or  in  such  ways  as  to  increase  the  difficulties 
of  the  situation  ?  The  question  before  us  is  not  that 
of  immigration,  large  or  small,  or  none  at  all.    The 


214    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

question  is  whether  we  are  going  to  treat  those 
whom  we  have  already  admitted,  and  shall  in  the 
future  continue  to  admit,  in  such  ways  as  to  repel 
them  and  their  children,  setting  them  off  as  a  group 
by  themselves  in  perpetual  alienation  of  spirit  from 
our  American  life  and  government  ?  or  are  we  going 
to  give  them  that  equality  of  political  and  economic 
right  and  opportunity  as  shall  reduce  the  race  aliena- 
tion and  the  race  problem  to  a  minimum? 

The  contention  of  this  volume  is  that  the  refusal 
of  naturalization  privileges  to  Asiatics,  in  spite  of 
qualification  in  every  non-racial  respect,  will  inter- 
fere with  the  best  Americanization  of  Asiatic  chil- 
dren born  in  America  and  will  tend  to  fasten  per- 
manently upon  us  serious  race  problems.  The 
surest  and  best  method  for  avoiding  the  race  problem 
of  white  and  yellow  in  the  United  States  is  to  restrict 
immigration  rigidly  and  then  to  grant  complete  equality 
of  political  and  economic  privilege  and  opportunity  to 
all  who  qualify  in  language  and  education. 

For  an  adequate  understanding  of  the  forces  at 
work  tending  to  Americanize  the  Japanese  in  Cali- 
fornia no  one  should  overlook  the  evangehstic  ac- 
tivities of  Christian  churches  and  the  rise  among 
the  Japanese  of  Christian  institutions.  As  soon  as 
Japanese  began  to  arrive  in  considerable  numbers, 
missionary  work  for  them  was  started  both  by 
churches  in  California  and  by  mission  boards.    Much 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     215 

energy  has  been  expended  in  this  direction.  Four 
American  representatives  of  as  many  mission  boards 
and  many  Japanese  pastors  and  evangeHsts  are  de- 
voting their  mitiring  energies  to  this  work. 

The  Japanese  themselves  have  become  enterpris- 
ing leaders.  They  have  formed  (1910)  an  Inter- 
denominational Board  of  Missions  (Dendo  Dan) 
and  are  carrying  a  programme  of  activities  that  is 
highly  valuable  and  promising  both  from  the 
evangelistic  standpoint  and  from  that  of  American- 
ization. From  their  sixth  annual  report  the  follow- 
ing figures  are  secured  in  regard  to  Christian  work 
among  Japanese  in  California. 

There  are  78  churches  connected  with  15  de- 
nominations (23  Methodist;  11  Presbyterian,  10 
Congregational,  6  Protestant  Episcopal,  5  Canadian 
Methodist,  4  Union,  and  19  belonging  to  nine  other 
denominations) .  The  pastors  and  evangelists  num- 
ber 86,  church-members  5,210,  and  Sunday-school 
attendants  2,591.  The  additions  to  church-member- 
ship during  the  year  were  705.  These  churches 
maintained  34  schools  for  instruction  in  English, 
having  897  pupils.  They  also  carried  on  17  kinder- 
gartens, employing  25  teachers  and  attended  by 
641  children. 

The  Dendo  Dan  brings  over  from  Japan  from  time 
to  time  eminent  Japanese  pastors  and  evangelists, 
or  makes  use  of  those  who  pass  through  California. 
In  the  winter  of  1915-1916  it  secured  the  services 


216    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

of  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  successful  Japanese 
Christians,  Reverend  Paul  Kanamori.  He  held  ser- 
vices in  56  churches  on  the  Pacific  coast,  at  which 
1,773  Japanese  professed  conversion.  At  the  date 
of  the  report  614  of  these  had  already  joined  the 
churches  on  confession  of  faith  and  393  others  were 
receiving  instruction  preparatory  for  membership. 

The  full  significance  of  these  facts  can  only  be 
appreciated  by  one  who  knows  how  different  is  the 
attitude  and  spirit  of  a  Japanese  who  has  become  a 
Christian  from  the  attitude  and  spirit  of  those  who 
either  have  no  religious  convictions  whatever,  or 
still  cling  to  their  ancestral  faith  compounded  of 
Shintoism  and  Buddhism  with  more  or  less  of  super- 
stition and  magic.  A  Christian  Japanese  is  ready 
to  go  more  than  half-way  in  establishing  right  re- 
lations with  American  neighbors.  The  difference  is 
beautifully  illustrated  in  the  township  of  Livingston 
where  a  community  of  Christian  Japanese  has  been 
built  up  and  is  living  on  the  most  friendly  relations 
with  Americans.  No  more  important  step  could 
possibly  be  taken  by  American  Christians  in  the 
Americanization  of  Orientals  living  here  perma- 
nently than  in  providing  adequate  support  for  ag- 
gressive Christian  work  among  these  peoples  from 
the  Far  East. 

Two  interesting  cases  of  Americanized  Japanese 
children  may  be  cited  at  this  point. 

When  the  Anti-Alien  Land  Law  was  under  hot 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST     217 

discussion  and  danger  of  war  was  widely  believed, 
even  the  children  in  the  schools  of  Los  Angeles  got 
wind  of  the  situation.  One  day  a  little  Japanese 
boy  of  ten  or  twelve,  on  his  return  from  school, 
was  found  in  tears  by  his  father.  For  some  time 
the  father  tried  in  vain  to  find  out  the  trouble;  he 
surmised  that  the  boy  might  have  had  some  trouble 
with  his  white  schoolmates.  At  last,  however,  the 
little  fellow  sobbed  out  the  words:  "Papa,  you  know 
there  is  going  to  be  war  between  America  and  Japan 
and  I'll  have  to  fight  you  'cause  you're  a  Jap." 

The  American-born  daughter  of  a  wealthy  Japa- 
nese living  in  California  one  day  suddenly  exclaimed 
to  her  mother,  after  observing  herself  intently  in  the 
mirror:  "Why,  mother,  how  much  I  look  like  a 
Japanese  girl!"  Playing  as  she  had  so  exclusively 
with  her  American  playmates,  she  had  assumed  that 
she  looked  hke  them.  Only  when  she  reached  her 
twelfth  year  did  she  discover  that  she  was  Japanese 
in  appearance. 

Particularly  interesting  cases  of  Americanization 
consist  of  Japanese  children  reared  from  infancy  in 
American  families.  I  am  personally  acquainted 
with  two  such  cases,  both  girls.  One  of  them,  dis- 
covering her  race  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  went 
through  a  season  of  deep  spiritual  rebellion.  Physi- 
cally she  was  Japanese.  Mentally  and  spiritually 
she  was  completely  American  even  to  the  extent  of 
having  an  anti-Japanese  spirit !    The  other  I  came 


218    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

to  know  only  as  a  young  lady  after  she  had  gradu- 
ated from  Stanford  University.  She,  too,  was  a 
thoroughly  American  woman  in  every  respect  save 
her  physical  features.  Neither  knows  anything  of 
the  Japanese  language,  customs,  ideals,  or  manners. 
They  were  and  are  as  thoroughly  American  as  any 
person  of  white  ancestry.  In  both  cases  the  bi- 
ological heredity  was  completely  Japanese  while  the 
social  heredity  was  completely  American. 

With  regard  to  the  Americanization  of  Chinese 
in  the  United  States  the  following  statements  will 
perhaps  suffice.  The  census  shows  that  in  1910 
there  were  8,463  American-born  Chinese  citizens 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over,  and  1,368  more 
who  were  naturalized.  How  completely  any  of 
these  were  in  any  proper  sense  Americanized  we  have 
no  means  of  knowing.  Certain  considerations,  how- 
ever, in  this  connection  may  be  helpful. 

Until  1912,  when  the  Chinese  Republic  was 
established,  the  entire  trend  of  Chinese  thought 
throughout  the  world  was  conservative.  Wherever 
they  went  they  had  no  idea  of  adopting  new  ways. 
It  did  not  occur  to  them  that  they  should  adapt 
themselves  to  the  peoples  among  whom  they  might 
be  living,  that  they  should  learn  to  be  assimilated 
to  their  new  surroundings.  The  same  is  true  of 
Anglo-Saxons  who  go  to  other  lands — it  does  not 
occur  to  them  to  adopt  the  ways,  ideas,  and  manners 


SITUATION  ON  THE  PACIFIC  COAST      219 

of  the  people  of  those  lands.  But  a  new  spirit  has 
arisen  within  the  republic.  China  is  changing  and 
all  Chinese  everTwhere.  They  are  entering  into  the 
life  of  the  world.  The  queue  is  vanishing  and  all 
that  it  signifies.  We  now  begin  to  see  that  Chinese 
can  and  do  assimilate  new  ideas,  and  can  be  as- 
similated to  new  conditions. 

The  permanent  Chinese  population  of  the  United 
States,  as  we  have  seen,  is  small.  The  families  are 
few,  as  is  also  the  number  of  their  children. 

The  anti-Chinese  feeling  on  the  Pacific  coast  has 
largely,  if  not  wholly,  passed  away.  In  place  of 
violent  denunciation  so  common  two  or  three  dec- 
ades ago,  conmiendation  of  Chinese  character  and 
efficiency  is  now  frequently  heard. 

The  writer  was  recently  told  by  a  labor  leader  in 
San  Francisco  that  the  Chinese  voters  of  San  Fran- 
cisco exercise  their  suffrage  rights  with  discrimina- 
tion and  probity.  In  the  public  schools  of  the 
Pacific  coast  Chinese  children  are  securing  their 
education  side  by  side  with  the  children  of  the 
other  races  that  make  up  our  mixed  population.  Of 
the  6,978  Chinese  between  the  ages  of  six  and 
twenty  reported  by  the  census  of  1910,  3,263  were 
attending  school.  These  changes  of  American  opin- 
ion and  attitude  are  doubtless  due  to  the  substantial 
attainments  in  Americanization  of  the  Chinese  in 
America,  and  also  to  an  adjustment  to  the  Chinese 
on  the  part  of  the  Americans. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
SITUATION    IN   THE    HAWAIIAN    ISLANDS 

The  Hawaiian  Islands  present  a  unique  oppor- 
tunity for  the  study  of  race  contacts  and  trans- 
formations, particularly  contacts  of  the  white  and 
yellow  races.  The  writer  spent  the  early  years  of 
his  life  in  Hawaii.  In  the  course  of  his  trips  back 
and  forth  across  the  Pacific  during  the  past  thirty 
years  he  has  made  several  visits  to  the  islands.  In 
1915  he  visited  fifteen  plantations  for  the  special 
purpose  of  studying  the  Japanese  situation.  The 
facts  discovered  were  impressive.  He  prepared  a 
paper  which  was  later  printed  under  the  title  "Ha- 
waii's American-Japanese  Problem."  That  pam- 
phlet, together  with  governor's  reports  for  1915- 
1916,  and  the  reports  of  the  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  and  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  Honolulu  for  1916,  have  been  utilized  in  prepar- 
ing the  present  chapter. 

The  native  Hawaiian  population,  supposed  to 
number  some  400,000  when  first  discovered  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  early  contracted  fatal  diseases 
from  sailors  and  died  off  at  an  appalling  rate.  At 
the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries  (1820) 

220 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    221 


already  nearly  one-half  of  the  population  had 
perished.  The  high  death-rate  was  finally  over- 
come, so  that  a  small  Hawaiian  population  survives 
to  this  day.  Being  a  tropical  people,  they  are  un- 
fitted for  the  monotonous  hard  toil  to  which  in- 
habitants of  the  temperate  zones  are  accustomed. 

When,  therefore,  extensive  cultivation  of  the  soil 
became  profitable  and  plantations  developed,  plant- 
ers began  to  look  for  more  efficient  labor  than  that 
supplied  by  the  natives.  It  was  soon  discovered 
that  American  laborers  could  not  be  induced  to 
migrate  to  the  tropical  islands  for  agricultural  labor 
under  the  broiling  sun.  The  planters,  therefore, 
during  the  later  decades  of  the  last  century  expended 
large  sums  in  bringing  to  the  islands  in  successive 
waves  laborers  from  China,  Portugal,  Japan,  Porto 
Rico,  Siberia,  and  the  Philippines.  As  one  supply 
failed,  for  one  reason  or  another,  a  new  source  was 
tapped.  In  consequence  there  is  found  to-day  in 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  a  highly  mixed  population. 
According  to  the  latest  available  statistics  (June  30, 
1916)  the  total  estimated  population  of  the  islands 
is  228,771,  classified  as  follows: 


1.  Japanese 97,000 

2.  Hawaiian 23,770 

3.  Part  Hawaiian  . .   15,334 

4.  Portuguese 23,755 

5.  Chinese 21,954 

6.  Filipinos 16,898 


7.    { 


16,042 


American  ] 
British  I 
German  j 
Russian     J 

8.  Porto  Rican.  .  . .     5,187 

9.  Spanish 3,577 

10.  Others 6,254 


222    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

In  addition  to  these  members  of  the  regular  popu- 
lation Governor  Pinkham  reported  8,445  men  and 
officers  in  the  army  and  407  in  the  navy  and  marine 
corps. 

In  spite  of  serious  danger  throughout  the  last 
century  from  certain  European  nations,  the  islands 
maintained  their  political  independence.  The 
government  in  1840  became  a  constitutional  mon- 
archy, and  in  1894  a  republic.  At  the  time  of  the 
Spanish- American  War  (1898),  at  the  request  of  the 
Hawaiian  Government  itself,  the  islands  were  an- 
nexed by  the  United  States  and  have  since  been 
administered  as  a  Territory.  All  who  had  acquired 
citizenship  in  the  island  government  were  accepted 
as  American  citizens,  whatever  their  race.  Since 
1898  no  Chinese  have  been  allowed  to  be  natural- 
ized. 

In  spite  of  the  small  minority  of  Caucasians, 
only  some  14,000  of  whom  are  American  and  British, 
the  authorized  language  of  the  islands  is  English — 
the  one  medium  of  communication  between  the 
races.  The  races  have  lived  together  with  a  re- 
markable spirit  of  good-will,  mutual  patience,  and 
common  effort  to  make  a  success  of  the  experiment, 
into  which  they  have  unintentionally  stumbled. 
They  are  seeking  to  show  "how  diverse  races  can 
live  together  without  friction,  in  fair  friendliness 
and  mutual  advantage." 

One  of  the  fundamental  reasons  why  the  experi- 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    223 

ment  has  gone  on  successfully  thus  far  is  the  spirit 
which  had  been  planted  by  the  missionaries  among 
the  native  population  prior  to  the  advent  of  other 
races.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  missionaries 
who  first  reached  the  islands  in  1820,  not  only  did  the 
Kings  and  princely  families  become  Christians,  but 
also  a  large  proportion  of  the  population.  As  early 
as  1825  the  Ten  Commandments  were  made  by  King 
Kamehameha  the  basal  law  of  the  land.  Constitu- 
tional government  was  established  in  1840,  universal 
suffrage  was  granted  in  due  time  based  on  educa- 
tional and  property  qualifications,  rights  of  land- 
ownership,  formerly  confined  to  the  royal  family, 
were  given  (1848)  to  heads  of  families  with  suit- 
able amounts  of  land,  and  the  spirit  of  universal 
brotherhood  was  wide-spread  among  the  people.  As 
aliens  of  various  races  arrived,  equal  privileges  were 
extended  to  all  as  they  qualified,  regardless  of 
race. 

As  the  number  of  alien  laborers  has  increased  in 
recent  decades,  constant  effort  has  been  made  by 
the  leading  plantations^  many  of  them  under  the 
control  of  descendants  of  missionaries,  to  main- 
tain right  relations  with  them.  "From  the  be- 
ginning, then,"  says  Professor  A.  F.  Griffiths  in  his 
valuable  article  on  the  "  Japanese  Race  Question  in 
Hawaii"  {Journal  of  Race  Development,  April,  1916), 
"the  causes  which  have  made  for  jealousy,  suspicion, 
and  friction  were  largely  removed.    Thus  the  equal- 


224    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

ity  of  the  races,  fair  dealing  among  men,  a  simple 
sense  of  the  justice  that  ought  to  go  out  to  the 
other  man,  were  firmly  established." 

When  the  "gentlemen's  agreement"  (1907)  was 
entered  upon  by  Japan,  Japanese  immigration  to 
Hawaii  was  affected  no  less  than  that  to  Continental 
United  States.  The  total  of  Japanese  arrivals  at 
Honolulu  fell  from  8,694  in  1908  to  1,493  in  1909. 
The  statistics  of  Japanese  arrivals  to  and  departures 
from  the  Hawaiian  Islands  have  been  carefully 
considered  in  the  latter  part  of  Chapter  XI. 

According  to  the  census  of  1910  the  total  number 
of  males  of  all  races  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
amounted  to  123,099,  of  whom  54,784  were  Japanese, 
many  of  whom,  of  course,  were  children.  At  that 
time  the  females  of  all  races  numbered  68,810,  of 
whom  24,891  were  Japanese.  Since  that  date 
13,746  Japanese  females  have  been  admitted  to  the 
islands,  and  about  3,400  have  departed.  There 
has  accordingly  been  an  increase  by  immigration  of 
about  10,000  females.  Since  the  total  Japanese 
population  has  increased  by  immigration  by  only 
about  3,000,  this  means  that  some  7,000  more  men 
have  departed  from  the  islands  than  have  entered. 
The  disparity  between  the  sexes  has  accordingly 
diminished,  the  adult  males  numbering  approxi- 
mately 48,000  and  the  females  35,000,  without  mak- 
ing allowances  for  births  and  deaths. 

According  to  the  territorial  statistics,  from  1887 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    225 

to  1894  (inclusive)  some  1,338  Japanese  children 
were  born  in  Hawaii,  of  whom  600  were  males  and 
638  were  females,  while  from  1895  to  1914  (inclusive) 
Japanese  births  reached  the  high  figures  of  22,247 
males  and  20,352  females.  For  the  years  1915- 
1916  the  births  of  Japanese  children  were  4,606  and 
4,639  respectively,  as  reported  by  the  Japanese 
consul.  An  important  item  to  be  considered  at 
this  point  is  the  large  number  of  Japanese  children 
who  have  been  sent  back  to  Japan.  Full  statistics 
are  not  at  hand.  For  the  years  1915-1916,  however, 
the  figures  as  reported  by  Governor  Pinkham  are 
992  and  866  respectively.^  Making  allowances  for 
deaths,  for  which  we  have  no  statistics,  and  for 
returns  to  Japan,  it  is  nevertheless  evident  that  a 
very  considerable  Hawaiian-born  Japanese  popula- 
tion is  growing  up  in  the  islands,  who  are  by  our 
laws  American-born  citizens.  Their  number  must 
be  somewhere  between  25,000  and  30,000.  Those 
between  six  and  fifteen  years  of  age  who  are  in  the 
schools  number  14,440.  As  the  years  pass  the  males 
will  be  entitled  to  register  and  to  vote.  This  statis- 
tical situation  suggests  many  important  questions. 
What  kind  of  citizens,  for  instance,  will  these  Japa- 
nese children  make?     Will  this  Hawaiian-born  Japa- 

^  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  these  figures  diflfer  extraordinarily 
from  those  given  by  the  Bureau  of  Immigration;  according  to  this 
latter  authority  the  total  departures  of  children  fourteen  years  of 
age  and  under  from  the  United  States  (including  Hawaii)  for  1915 
and  1916  were  respectively  135  and  137.  How  to  reconcile  the 
governor's  figures  with  those  of  the  bureau  does  not  appear. 


226    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

nese  citizenship  amalgamate  by  intermarriage  with 
the  other  races  ?  These  are  questions  of  intense  in- 
terest to  all  students  of  race  problems.  Although 
full  statistics  are  not  available,  the  following  state- 
ments may  be  made: 

The  maintenance  thus  far  by  Japanese  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  of  the  purity  of  their  race  stock 
is  one  of  the  remarkable  facts  that  merits  considera- 
tion. The  report  of  the  registrar-general  for  1914 
classifies  by  race  the  marriages  of  the  year.  Of 
3,149  marriages,  1,806  are  Japanese-Japanese.  One 
Japanese  bride  married  an  American  and  another 
married  a  Spaniard.  One  Japanese  man  married  a 
Caucasian-Hawaiian,  and  3  Japanese  men  married 
pure  Hawaiians.  That  is  to  say:  6  Japanese 
married  out  of  their  race  to  twice  1,806  Japanese 
men  and  women  that  married  within  their  race. 
These  figures  are  in  marked  contrast  to  the  inter- 
marriage of  the  other  races.  Of  210  American  men 
who  married,  112  married  Ajnerican  brides,  the  re- 
maining 98  marrying  brides  of  other  races;  11 
married  pure  Hawaiians,  25  married  Caucasian- 
Hawaiians,  3  married  pure  Chinese,  and  4  married 
Chinese-Hawaiians.  Out  of  102  Chinese  men,  31 
married  pure  Hawaiians  and  9  married  Chinese- 
Hawaiian  women,  only  58  marrying  women  of  pure 
Chinese  blood.  While  1,806  Japanese  women  mar- 
ried Japanese  men,  only  2  married  out  of  their  race. 
Out  of  806  brides  of  pure  American,  British,  Ha- 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    227 

waiian,  Portuguese,  and  Spanish  blood,  206  married 
grooms  of  other  races  than  their  own. 

Statistics  for  1915  and  1916  reveal  the  same  gen- 
eral tendencies.  For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1915, 
out  of  a  total  of  2,730  men  who  married,  1,413  were 
Japanese.  Of  these,  1,409  married  Japanese  brides 
and  4  married  Hawaiians.  Only  one  Japanese 
woman  married  out  of  her  race,  she  becoming  the 
bride  of  a  Caucasian-Hawaiian.  In  contrast  to  these 
facts  are  those  deaUng  with  American  marriages. 
Out  of  212  American  men  who  married,  83  married 
American  brides,  while  33  married  Caucasian-Ha- 
waiians,  22  married  Hawaiians,  and  44  married  Por- 
tuguese. Of  American  women,  4  married  Caucasian- 
Hawaiians  and  one  married  a  Portuguese. 

In  1916  there  were  1,314  Japanese  men  who  mar- 
ried, of  whom  1,305  married  Japanese  brides,  while 
5  married  Hawaiians  and  4  married  Portuguese. 
Of  223  American  men,  however,  only  113  married 
American  brides,  while  30  married  Caucasian-Ha- 
waiians,  11  married  Hawaiians,  and  42  married  Por- 
tuguese. While  3  Japanese  women  out  of  1,308 
married  outside  of  their  race,  out  of  132  American 
brides,  10  married  British,  4  married  Caucasian- 
Hawaiians,  and  2  married  Hawaiians. 

Considerable  inquiry  has  led  the  ™ter  to  infer 
that  out  of  the  whole  number  of  Japanese  families 
in  the  Territory,  possibly  as  high  as  30,000,  there 
must  be  less  than  100  cases  in  which  the  mothers 


228    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

are  Hawaiians.  When  Hawaiian-born  and  reared 
Japanese  children  begin  to  many,  it  is  doubtful  if 
these  tendencies  will  be  maintained. 

There  is  general  agreement  in  the  opinion  that  on 
most  of  the  plantations  no  regular  prostitution  now 
exists,  and  also  that  the  Japanese  are  more  free 
from  venereal  diseases  than  any  other  race.  Some 
of  the  physicians  and  managers  made  amazingly 
strong  statements  on  this  point.  In  the  city  of 
Honolulu,  however,  the  situation  seems  to  be  re- 
versed, Japanese  prostitutes  being  found  in  rela- 
tively large  numbers.  A  recent  investigation  of  the 
red-light  district  showed  that  out  of  107  prostitutes, 
82  were  Japanese. 

Turning  now  to  the  social  conditions  of  the  Japa- 
nese the  following  statements  may  be  made : 

Examination  in  detail  of  more  than  a  dozen 
"camps"  showed  that  that  name  should  be  aban- 
doned. They  are  villages  rather  than  camps.  A 
few  plantations  still  use  some  of  the  old  barracks. 
As  a  rule,  however,  they  have  been  entirely  given 
up.  Each  family  has  a  home  for  itself.  If  the 
family  is  small,  it  has  two  rooms  and  a  kitchen,  two 
homes  being  covered  by  a  single  roof.  Large  fami- 
lies have  an  entire  building.  Each  house  has  its 
own  plot  of  ground.  In  many  cases  these  are  cul- 
tivated, but  the  custom  is  still  far  from  universal. 
The  apparent  indifference  of  so  many  Japanese 
families  to  the  appearance  of  their  homes,  whether 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    229 

within  or  without,  is  a  matter  of  surprise.  Japanese 
in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  are  distinctly  inferior  to 
Portuguese  in  this  respect,  though  superior  to  Fili- 
pinos. Portuguese  villages  appear  as  a  rule  attrac- 
tive, being  well  provided  with  trees  and  flowers, 
while  Japanese  villages  as  a  rule  are  unattractive. 
There  is,  however,  much  difference  between  the  var 
rious  plantations  in  this  respect.  Much  evidently 
depends  on  the  plantation  manager. 

Particular  inquiry  was  made  in  regard  to  Japanese 
financial  conditions.  I  learned  that  while  work 
which  lasted  two  years  or  more  was  given  on  regularly 
recorded  contracts,  agreements  for  work  for  shorter 
periods,  for  work  namely  that  would  be  completed 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  were  merely  verbal. 
The  fine  relations  of  mutual  trust  and  good-will  dis- 
played by  this  arrangement  were  highly  impressive. 
The  adjustment  also  of  rates  of  payment,  so  that 
the  laborer  shares  with  the  plantation  the  advantages 
or  disadvantages  of  large  or  small  crops,  and  also 
of  high  or  low  prices  of  sugar,  evinced  the  desire  of 
the  managers  to  deal  fairly  with  labor  and  also  the 
confidence  of  labor  in  the  honesty  and  fair  deaUng 
of  the  managers. 

The  fact  that  while  Filipinos,  Portuguese,  Porto 
Ricans,  and  others  as  a  rule  are  given  only  day 
labor,  the  long-period,  profitable  contracts  are  given 
largely  to  Japanese,  speaks  volumes  for  the  superior 
ability  and  fidelity  of  Japanese  labor. 


230    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

The  financial  prosperity  of  the  Japanese  was  also 
a  cause  of  surprise.  In  addition  to  wages,  every 
laborer  is  provided  free  of  cost  a  house,  tools,  fuel, 
water,  and  medical  treatment.  During  the  past 
few  years  the  housing  arrangements  have  been 
greatly  unproved  at  a  cost  to  the  plantations  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  Statements  from 
Japanese  workers  show  that  while  the  minimum 
earnings  for  a  year — receiving  only  day  wages — 
amount  to  about  $200,  the  total  expenses  of  living 
for  a  single  man  amount  to  about  $125,  leaving 
thus  a  clear  profit  of  $75.  A  man  and  wife  with  2 
or  3  children  earn  at  the  minimum  about  $260 
and  spend  about  $250,  leaving  only  a  small  balance. 
Where  a  contract  is  taken  the  laborer  still  receives, 
free,  house,  fuel,  etc.  His  income  and  savings  de- 
pend on  his  energy  and  skill.  A  man  and  his  wife 
can  earn  as  much  as  from  $50  to  $80  per  month. 
Exceptional  cases  run  high.  The  highest  earnings 
reported  were  those  of  two  men  who  took  a  contract 
for  the  cultivation  of  a  25-acre  field.  The  work 
was  completed  in  235  days,  and  for  that  period  they 
received  $1,856.50,  being  $3.95  per  day  each. 

The  system  of  making  payments  on  contracts  as 
the  work  is  accomplished  and  also  of  providing  a 
yearly  bonus  for  all  laborers  who  remain  through- 
out the  year  and  work  an  average  of  twenty  days 
per  month  proves  still  further  the  desire  of  the 
managers  to  deal  helpfully  with  their  labor.    Re- 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    231 

ports  (not  complete)  show  that  during  three  years 
(1912-1914)  of  the  operation  of  the  bonus  system, 
the  total  amount  distributed  was  over  half  a  milHon 
dollars.  The  amount  of  the  bonus  depends  on  the 
average  price  of  sugar  for  the  entire  year,  and  on 
the  total  earnings  of  the  workmen  for  the  year,  a 
rather  complex  formula  which,  however,  does  not 
need  to  be  explained  here  in  detail. 

In  1912,  15,994  workmen  received  $335,732  or 
$20.99  per  man. 

In  1913, 14,934  workmen  received  $48,716  or  $3.26 
per  man. 

In  1914,  15,985  workmen  received  $189,025  or 
$11.20  per  man. 

In  these  years  the  total  number  of  Japanese 
laborers  on  the  sugar-plantations  was  respectively 
28,138,  24,711,  and  24,732.  Those  who  received  a 
bonus,  therefore,  were  more  than  half  of  the  number 
employed. 

In  1915  and  1916  the  bonus  is  understood  to  have 
been  very  large,  but  the  figures  are  not  at  hand. 

The  financial  conditions  of  the  Japanese  must  be 
looked  at  from  several  standpoints.  Their  deposits 
in  the  banks  of  Hawaii  for  the  years  1914,  1915,  and 
1916  were  $1,386,788,  $2,494,594,  and  $3,896,830 
respectively.  Until  1912  Japanese  sent  home  prac- 
tically all  their  savings.  When  they  began  to  think 
they  might  remain  permanently  in  Hawaii  they 
began  to  place  their  savings  in  the  banks.     In  addi- 


232    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

tion  to  the  amounts  on  deposit,  during  the  calendar 
year  ending  December  31,  1916,  $1,110,753.33 
were  sent  to  Japan  through  the  post-office,  the 
number  of  orders  being  40,905,  an  average  of  $27 
to  the  order. 

As  rapidly  as  Japanese  can  do  so  they  establish 
their  own  independent  farming  and  business  enter- 
prises. Many  of  them  start  prematurely  with  in- 
sufficient experience  and  capital,  and  consequently 
fail.  These  disappear  and  are  forgotten.  Many, 
however,  are  succeeding.  The  report  of  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Hawaii,  June  30, 1916,  gives  the  number  of 
independent  business  enterprises  of  the  different 
races  for  the  two  principal  cities. 


Honolulu 

HiLO 

Hawaiian  and  others 

22 
45 

286 

673 
754 

13 
25 

48 

64 
248 

Portuguese 

American  ] 

British       \ 

German     j 

Chinese 

Japanese 

1,780 

398 

These  figures,  however,  do  not  give  the  relative 
amounts  of  business  done.  Out  of  14,060  taxpayers 
on  real  property  there  were  only  911  Japanese,  while 
out  of  12,067  taxpayers  on  personal  property  there 
were  3,553  Japanese.  The  total  assessed  value  of 
real  and  personal  property  was  $207,000,000,  of 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    233 

which  Japanese  owned  only  2.1  per  cent  or  $4,502,537 
worth.  Out  of  2,525  persons  in  Hawaii  paying  in- 
come tax  there  were  only  70  Japanese  and  35  Chi- 
nese, Anglo-Saxons  numbering  179  and  Hawaiians 
1,769.  Corporations  (388)  paid  87.01  per  cent  of 
the  income  tax,  Hawaiians  paying  11.57  per  cent, 
Anglo-Saxons  0.84  per  cent,  and  Japanese  0.22  per 
cent. 

The  savings-bank  accounts  of  Japanese  (June  30, 
1916)  numbered  5,312,  with  a  total  of  $510,829.89, 
being  an  average  of  $96.16  each.  Chinese  savings- 
bank  accounts  numbered  2,197,  with  a  total  of 
$660,234.46,  giving  the  remarkable  average  of 
$300.51. 

A  question  constantly  asked  concerns  the  ten- 
dency of  Japanese  children  born  in  the  islands  to 
remain  on  the  plantations.  In  Hawaii  and  Maui 
the  invariable  answer  was  that  only  a  few  do  so; 
the  large  majority  leave  for  Honolulu  and  seek  an 
easier  life  than  that  of  their  parents.  In  Kauai 
and  Oahu,  however,  many  young  people  are  taking 
up  plantation  work.  Managers  on  the  former 
islands  regarded  (1915)  with  anxiety  the  future  of 
the  labor  supply.  They  expressed  a  desire  for  fresh 
immigration  from  Japan  and  China,  while  those  on 
Kauai  had  no  such  anxiety  or  desire. 

Important  light  is  thrown  on  the  question  as  to 
what  kind  of  citizens  Hawaiian-bom  Japanese  are 
to  make,  by   considering   the  fine  school  system 


234    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

of  the  Territorial  government.  Efficient  American 
teachers  are  doing  truly  missionary  work  in  all 
parts  of  the  islands.  Children  of  all  the  races  are 
together  learning  not  only  the  three  r's  but  the 
EngHsh  language,  the  essentials  of  American  his- 
tory, and  the  principles  of  American  democracy. 
They  play  together  and  together  they  sing  our 
patriotic  songs  and  learn  to  repeat  choice  quota- 
tions from  our  best  statesmen — ^Washington,  Frank- 
lin, Hamilton,  Jefferson,  Roosevelt.  Flag-raising 
and  observance  of  national  holidays  is  an  important 
part  of  school  work. 

In  this  connection  the  educational  statistics  on  op- 
posite page  are  important. 

A  summary  statement  of  other  tables  given  by  the 
Superintendent  of  Education  shows  that  of  the  total 
number  of  pupils  in  the  schools  in  1916  (39,024), 
32,278  were  in  pubHc  and  6,746  were  in  private 
schools,  which  follow  the  same  curriculum.  Of  the 
14,440  Japanese  children,  13,382  were  in  the  pubHc 
schools  and  1,058  were  in  private  schools.  The 
number  of  public  and  private  schools  was  169  and 
51  respectively,  giving  a  total  of  220. 

Of  the  teachers  (total,  1,171)  99  were  Hawaiian, 
233  part  Hawaiian,  561  American,  55  Chinese,  and 
23  Japanese.  Excepting  the  Americans,  practically 
all  the  other  teachers  had  been  trained  in  the  Nor- 
mal School. 

The  percentage  of  attendance  of  pupils  for  1916 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS       235 


PUPILS  IN  THE  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE  SCHOOLS 
OF  HAWAII 


1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

Hawaiian . . 

Part  Ha- 
waiian. .  . 

American. . 

British .... 

German .  .  . 

Portuguese 

Scandina- 
vian  

Japanese. . . 

Chinese. .  .  . 

Porto  Rican 

Korean. .  .  . 

Spanish 

Russian. . . . 

Filipino 

Other    For- 
eigners. . 

4,977 

2,631 
699 
232 
320 

3.809 

ii352 
1,289 

229 

4,903 

2,869 
812 
240 
337 

4,124 

i!993 

1,385 

596 

260 

5.076 

2,934 
796 
215 
333 

4,335 

2!341 

1,499 

593 

260 

4,803 

3,018 
799 
217 
295 

4,243 

2!521 

1,554 

538 

337 

4.983 

3.267 
931 
226 
252 

4.448 

sis  13 

1.875 
437 

285 

4,943 

3,430 
1,025 

268 

298 

4,683 

siseg 

2,087 
405 

636 

4,906 

3,500 

1,009 

187 

273 

4,437 

82 

4,547 

2.197 

392 

161 

199 

4.658 

3.546 
937 
220 
295 

4.537 

81 

5,035 

2,548 

368 

210 

652 

4.767 

3,691 
999 
189 
265 

4.777 

67 

6,095 

2.797 

447 

168 

594 

15,537 

17,519 

18,382 

18,415 

20.017 

21.644 

21.890 

23,087 

24.856 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

Hawaiian 

4,536 
3,841 
1,057 
185 
263 
4,727 

6,758 

2,840 

381 

248 

"'679 

4,354 
3,718 
1,056 
152 
261 
4,890 

7;262 

2,872 

350 

270 

"'585 

4,301 
4,060 
1,191 
134 
316 
5,153 

8,600 

3,184 

332 

339 

'805 

4.370 
4,182 
1,232 
173 
275 
5,580 

10,288 
3,839 
653 
390 
592 
116 
169 
411 

4.179 
4,108 
1,447 
161 
269 
5,521 

10,976 
3,625 
774 
399 
1,037 
157 
286 
200 

3.963 
4.482 
1.440 
145 
299 
5.780 

12.917 
3,886 
855 
460 
1.069 
144 
367 
181 

4,011 
4,652 
1.561 
144 
260 
5.973 

14,324 
4,008 
963 
512 
1.008 
159 
490 
164 

3,914 
4,918 
1,795 
144 
281 
6,012 

14^440 
4,070 
1.057 
518 
940 
156 
552 
227 

Part  Hawaiian.  .  . 
American 

"British 

German 

Portuguese 

Scandinavian 

Japanese 

Chinese 

Porto  Rican 

Korean 

Spanish 

Russian 

Filipino 

Other  Foreigners. . 

25.410 

25,770 

28,615 

32,300 

33,139 

35.988 

38.229 

39,024 

was  94.3.  The  spelling-test  for  the  ten  largest 
schools  was  92  per  cent.  This  is  6  per  cent  higher 
than  the  spelling-test  of  84  schools  in  the  cities  of 
Continental  United  States,  which  followed  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation  system  of  tests.    Besides 


236    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

the  Normal  School;  there  are  four  high  schools,  the 
total  enrolment  of  which  is  approximately  1,000. 

Vocational  education  has  made  great  strides  in  all 
these  schools  in  recent  years,  carpentry,  cooking, 
and  agriculture  receiving  special  attention  in  scores 
of  the  larger  schools. 

Students  of  the  Japanese  problem  in  Hawaii  will 
pay  special  attention  to  the  "Japanese  schools." 
On  the  occasion  of  my  investigation  (1915)  I  visited 
many  of  them  and  was  surprised  at  their  number, 
equipment,  and  fine  locations.  These  facts  are  pro- 
ducing anxiety  on  the  part  of  some  Americans,  who 
look  upon  these  schools  as  part  of  a  scheme  of  the 
Japanese  Government  to  retain  its  hold  on  the 
Japanese  population  of  the  islands  in  order  finally 
to  annex  them  to  the  empire  of  Japan.  An  adequate 
understanding  of  the  situation,  however,  will,  I  be- 
lieve, remove  these  anxieties  and  suspicions.  The 
following  is  a  brief  statement  of  the  saHent  facts  in 
the  case. 

Until  the  annexation  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  by 
the  United  States  practically  all  laboring  Japanese 
arriving  in  the  islands  came  on  three-year  contracts. 
On  completion  of  the  contracts  the  vast  majority 
returned  to  Japan.  Upon  annexation  (1898)  the 
contract  system  was  abolished.  Laborers  then  came 
as  freemen,  but  still  with  no  thought  of  permanent 
residence.  Gradually,  however,  there  came  into 
being  a  community  of  Japanese  who  found  them- 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    237 

selves  staying  on  from  year  to  year,  business  oppor- 
tunities and  prospects  being  better  in  the  islands 
than  in  Japan.  Japanese  women — wives — then  be- 
gan to  come  in  increasing  numbers.  Japanese 
children  in  the  pubhc  and  private  schools  numbered 
only  1,352  in  1900.  In  1906,  however,  they  equalled 
the  number  of  Hawaiian  and  Portuguese  children. 
Since  that  date  they  have  been  passing  far  beyond 
them. 

All  Japanese  in  Hawaii  were  until  about  1910  or 
1912  expecting  sooner  or  later  to  return  to  their 
native  land.  Many  of  them  had  been  sending  their 
children  home  to  the  grandparents.  To  their 
astonishment  and  sorrow  they  began  to  discover 
that  their  children  were  not  Japanese  in  tempera- 
ment, language,  manners,  or  tastes.  They  could 
neither  read  nor  write  Japanese,  and  could  not  enter 
Japanese  schools.  Even  in  the  islands,  in  propor- 
tion as  the  children  advanced  in  the  Territorial 
schools,  the  parents  found  themselves  getting  out 
of  touch  with  their  own  children.  The  children 
were  learning  a  language  and  acquiring  ideas  that 
the  parents  knew  nothing  of.  They  could  not  even 
talk  freely  with  their  children. 

As  one  Japanese  expressed  it,  "the  mother  was 
like  a  hen  with  ducklings."  With  the  confident 
expectation  of  returning  eventually  to  Japan  with 
their  children,  "Japanese  schools  became  an  absolute 
necessity."    They  sprang  up  all  over  the  islands 


238    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

(between  1905-1910),  largely  by  the  energy  of  Bud- 
dhist priests,  who  took  advantage  of  the  new  situa- 
tion to  bind  the  Japanese  population  to  their 
shrines  and  temples  by  rendering  a  real  service. 
The  Hawaiian  planters,  moreover,  in  order  to  retain 
their  Japanese  labor,  assisted  these  Japanese  schools 
by  substantial  financial  grants. 

Those  schools  had  their  exercises  usually  for  one 
hour  before  and  for  two  hours  after  the  public 
schools.  According  to  the  report  of  Governor  Pink- 
ham  (1916)  the  number  of  these  schools  in  1915 
was  112,  and  the  number  of  the  children  attending 
them  was  11,216.  The  aim  of  these  schools  has  not 
been  to  displace  the  public-school  system,  but  only 
to  teach  the  children  their  native  language,  history, 
customs,  and  ideals.  It  was  perfectly  natural  that 
the  inculcation  of  patriotism  for  Japan  and  loyalty 
to  the  Emperor  should  also  be  a  part  of  their  pro- 
gramme and  purpose. 

By  1910-1912  this  situation  began  to  attract  the 
attention  and  arouse  the  anxiety  of  Americans. 
They  realized  that  these  thousands  of  Japanese 
boys  were  American-born  citizens;  they  saw  them 
being  trained  for  loyalty  to  Japan — ^implying  dis- 
loyalty to  America.  Far-seeing,  fair-minded,  and 
intelligent  Japanese  saw  the  justice  of  the  American 
contention.  By  1915  a  great  change,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  come  over  the  vast  majority  of  the  Jap- 
anese.   Their  children,  thousands  of  them  well  on 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    239 

in  their  teens,  had  no  desire  of  returning  to  Japan — 
a  strange  country  and  disagreeable  in  many  aspects. 
"To  reside  permanently  in  Hawaii  is  now  the  popu- 
lar cry  among  the  Japanese  in  Hawaii,"  writes  a 
Japanese  correspondent.  "This  change  has  taken 
place  within  the  past  five  or  six  years." 

In  consequence  of  this  change  the  situation  in  the 
Japanese  schools  has  been  undergoing  important 
transformation.  The  Japanese  text-books  have  been 
revised,  the  effort  being  to  remove  those  features 
that  might  be  regarded  by  Americans  as  teaching 
disloyalty  to  the  United  States.  A  few  Japanese  in 
Japan  have  become  indignant  over  the  changes  on 
the  ground  that  the  new  text-books  teach  disloyalty 
to  the  Emperor. 

The  total  outcome  of  this  movement  is  clear  and 
will  be  satisfactory  if  it  is  handled  wisely  by  Ameri- 
cans. The  Japanese  in  Hawaii — especially  the  ris- 
ing generation — who  are  better  acquainted  with  the 
Enghsh  language  and  with  American  history  and 
ideals  than  they  are  with  the  Japanese  language, 
history,  and  ideals,  will  not  long  tolerate  Japanese 
schools.  Parents  will  not  long  continue  to  support 
or  to  compel  their  children  to  attend  them.  New 
immigration  from  Japan  has  become  neghgible. 
Before  long  the  children  of  Hawaiian-born  Japanese 
will  begin  to  appear  who  will  know  httle  or  nothing 
of  their  ancestral  tongue. 

A  keen  Japanese,  long  resident  in  the  Hawaiian 


240    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

Islands;  makes  this  forecast  iii  a  personal  letter. 
"As  the  stars  disappear  one  by  one  before  the  dawn, 
so  will  the  Japanese  schools  in  Hawaii.  Within 
the  next  ten  or  fifteen  years  there  will  probably  re- 
main only  one  or  two  such  schools  in  Hilo  and 
Honolulu.  But  even  they  will  not  be  for  children, 
but  for  those  who  wish  to  have  commercial  relations 
with  Japan.  Buddhists  will,  of  course,  maintain 
their  schools  in  order  to  keep  their  hold  on  the  chil- 
dren, just  as  the  Roman  CathoHcs  are  doing  in  the 
United  States  and  Hawaii;  but  I  beHeve  that  the 
instruction  will  be  given  in  Enghsh  and  not  in  Jap- 
anese." 

At  the  time  of  my  investigation  (1915)  I  visited 
quite  a  number  of  these  Japanese  schools.  The 
teachers  in  the  non-reUgious  and  Jodo  Buddhist 
schools  appeared  to  be  fair-minded,  inteUigent  men, 
having  some  real  appreciation  of  their  problem  and 
a  desire  to  solve  it  to  the  mutual  advantage  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  and  their  Japanese  constituency. 
The  priest  teachers  of  the  Shinshu  (Hongwanji) 
Buddhist  schools  did  not  make  a  like  impression 
upon  me.  The  presence  of  these  schools,  with  the 
temples  and  shrines  of  two  or  three  of  the  most 
superstitious  sects  of  Japanese  Buddhism  (Shingon 
and  Daishi),  may  well  cause  anxiety  to  patriotic 
Americans. 

Many  of  these  Japanese  teachers  are  old-fashioned 
Buddhist  priests,  belated  and  reactionary  even  from 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    241 

the  standpoint  of  Japanese  in  Japan,  wholly  un- 
acquainted with  English,  and  out  of  sympathy  with 
American  institutions.  It  is  not  fitting  that  they 
should  be  allowed  to  stand  as  teachers  of  American 
youth.  The  solution  for  this  difficulty  would  seem 
to  be  a  Territorial  law  to  the  effect  that  teachers  in 
all  schools  in  the  Territory,  private  as  well  as  pubHc, 
must  qualify  in  certain  specified  matters,  such  as 
knowledge  of  English,  American  history,  methods 
of  government,  and  ideals  of  democracy.  Every 
teacher  should  hold  a  certificate  from  the  Board  of 
Education.  Such  a  law  would  practically  force  the 
Japanese  schools  to  employ  progressive  Japanese. 
It  is  a  question,  moreover,  whether  the  plantations 
should  be  allowed  to  subsidize  Japanese  schools 
whose  teachers  and  poHcies  tend  to  obstruct  the 
Americanization  of  their  pupils.  Serious  problems 
are  ahead  unless  Hawaiian-born  Japanese  are  pretty 
thoroughly  Americanized. 

These  general  conditions  described  above  are  also 
producing  important  changes  of  attitude  among  Jap- 
anese as  to  the  question  of  securing  American  citi- 
zenship. Whereas  until  recently  few  thought  of  it 
or  cared  for  it,  many  are  now  seriously  considering 
the  disabiUties  under  which  they  live,  alienated  from 
Japan  by  their  Hfe  here,  and  yet  unable  to  acquire 
American  citizenship.  Desire  for  American  citizen- 
ship has  developed  rapidly  during  the  past  four  or 
five  years,  greatly  stimulated  by  the  addresses  and 


242    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

advice  given  by  such  Japanese  visitors  as  Messrs. 
Hattori,  Ebara,  Soyeda,  and  Ibuka  and  others,  who 
in  1913  visited  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the 
California  Anti-AHen  Legislation. 

Among  the  questions  I  constantly  put  to  planta- 
tion managers  and  others  who  have  direct  deahngs 
with  Japanese  was  one  as  to  their  opinion  of  the 
capacity  of  Japanese  for  inteUigent,  high-minded,  and 
loyal  citizenship.  With  but  few  exceptions  the  re- 
plies were  prompt  and  favorable.  A  few  stated 
emphatically  that  Japanese  as  a  whole  would  make 
better  citizens  than  the  majority  of  those  who  are 
now  citizens. 

The  large  majority  of  those  interviewed  do  not 
look  forward  with  anxiety  to  the  time  when  the 
thousands  of  Hawaiian-born  Japanese  boys  shall  ex- 
ercise their  rights  of  suffrage.  Several  expressed  the 
thought  that  there  would  be  real  advantage  because 
of  such  a  class  of  voters. 

A  recent  development  throwing  much  light  on  the 
question  of  Americanization  of  Hawaiian-bom  Japa- 
nese is  the  formation  of  "Japanese  American  Citizen- 
ship Associations"  in  several  centres  such  as  Hono- 
lulu, Hilo,  and  Kauai.  The  Honolulu  association 
has  a  membership  of  70,  while  that  at  Hilo  has  as 
many  as  90.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  at  Honolulu  has  a 
citizenship  club  of  Enghsh-speaking  Japanese  which 
numbers  60,  of  whom  one-half  were  bom  in  Hawaii, 
and  the  other  half  m  Japan.    The  purpose  of  these 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    243 

associations  is  the  promotion  of  good-citizenship 
habits  among  the  new  voters  now  rapidly  develop- 
ing among  the  Japanese  population. 

The  association  at  Kauai  is,  however,  the  most 
active  and  interesting.  It  holds  classes  at  twelve 
different  points  in  the  island,  averaging  a  dozen 
members  each.  A  remarkable  feature  is  that  the 
members  pay  a  fee  of  one  dollar  per  month  and 
the  teachers  receive  regular  payment  for  their  work. 
This  association  was  organized  July  4, 1917,  with  an 
initial  membership  of  50.  A  fine  photograph  of  the 
group  reveals  them  as  well-dressed,  ambitious,  ener- 
getic American  youth.  A  few  of  the  members  were 
accepted  as  associates  because,  born  in  Japan,  they 
could  not  become  voting  citizens. 

The  number  of  Japanese  voters  is  still  small. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce (December  31,  1916),  the  Hawaiian  and  part 
Hawaiian  registered  voters  numbered  10,713,  Amer- 
icans, 3,284,  Portuguese,  2,610,  Chinese,  777,  British, 
648,  and  Japanese,  179,  all  others  numbering  648 — 
a  total  of  18,981.  On  registration  day  of  1917, 
according  to  the  Friend  596  Japanese  registered 
preliminary  to  voting  on  November  6.  In  ten 
years  there  will  be  a  substantial  Japanese  voting 
population.  Shall  they  be  definitely  trained  for 
good  citizenship  by  intelligent  presentation  of  the 
ideals  and  practices  of  democracy,  or  will  they  be 
left  to  drift  into  partisan  or  race  politics  as  have 


244    DEMOCRACY   AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

the  naturalized  and  American-born  citizens  of 
Irish,  HebreW;  and  other  peoples  from  Europe? 

There  are  encouraging  signs  that  the  poHtical 
leaders  of  Hawaii  are  awake  to  the  problem  and  are 
grappling  earnestly  and  effectively  with  the  new 
situation  developing  through  the  oncoming  thousands 
of  Hawaiian-born  Japanese  citizens. 

Americans  will  naturally  ask  what  the  attitude 
and  action  of  these  Hawaiian-born  Japanese  Amer- 
ican citizens  would  be  in  case  of  war  with  Japan. 
Would  they  be  genuine  American  or  primarily  Jap- 
anese— hyphenates? 

In  this  connection  it  is  important  to  note  what  the 
Japanese  themselves  say.  Again  I  may  refer  to  the 
teaching  of  the  moralists  of  Old  Japan,  now  repeated- 
ly emphasized,  that  the  principle  of  Bushido,  the 
way  of  the  warrior,  which  emphasizes  loyalty,  would 
require  Japanese  who  are  American  citizens  to  fight 
for  America.  Every  Japanese  who  speaks  or  says 
anything  on  these  matters  takes  this  ground. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  formation  of  the  associa- 
tion at  Hilo,  referred  to  above.  Reverend  S.  Sokabe, 
who  made  the  principal  address,  used  these  words, 
which  are  characteristic  of  the  spirit  of  the  entire 
speech:  "American-bom  and  naturahzed  Japanese 
are  no  longer  bound  to  Japan,  are  no  longer  her  sub- 
jects. They  are  subjects  of  the  United  States  and 
should  prove  true  and  loyal  to  her.  You,  American 
Japanese,  are  bound  to  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    245 

should  unite  in  loyalty  for  Hawaii  and  America. 
Should  emergency  arise,  offer  yourselves  as  did 
Patrick  Henry  and  Israel  Putnam  patriotically  to 
the  State,  and  thus  guard  and  maintain  the  pros- 
perity of  your  country,  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica." 

Information  has  been  received  that  since  the 
United  States  declared  war  on  Germany  many 
Japanese  have  taken  marked  interest  in  the  Na- 
tional Guard.  In  Honolulu,  on  August  16,  77 
American-bom  Japanese  enlisted  and  were  organ- 
ized into  Company  D  of  the  first  regiment,  the  first 
unit  of  American  troops  of  Japanese  race  under  the 
American  flag,  their  officers  being  Americans. 

A  question  asked  by  many  concerns  the  number 
of  foreign-bom  Japanese  who  would  qualify  and  be- 
come naturaHzed  in  case  the  laws  should  allow  it. 
In  seeking  a  reply,  we  must  bear  several  facts  in 
mind.  The  "gentlemen's  agreement"  went  into 
effect  in  1908;  at  that  date  there  were  in  Hawaii 
some  54,000  Japanese  males;  since  then,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  some  7,000  more  Japanese  men  have 
left  the  islands  than  have  entered.  We  must  also 
remember  that  the  vast  majority  of  Japanese  in  the 
islands  are  peasants  with  exceedingly  limited  educa- 
tion in  their  own  language.  Considering  how  diffi- 
cult it  is  for  Americans  to  learn  Japanese,  we  gain 
some  idea  as  to  the  difficulty  for  a  Japanese  to  learn 
enough  English  to  read  a  newspaper.    In  case  Japa- 


246    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

nese  should  be  granted  privileges  of  naturalization, 
they  would  have  to  acquire  a  definite  standard  of 
English.  Remembering  that  the  vast  majority  of 
Japanese  men  in  the  islands  are  laborers  and  that 
their  opportunity  and  time  and  capacity  for  study 
are  of  the  lowest,  I  conclude  that  in  all  probabihty 
not  five  per  cent  could  possibly  qualify. 

I  venture  the  "guess"  that  in  five  years  not  more 
than  2,000  to  2,500  Japanese  men  bom  in  Japan 
would  have  fulfilled  the  conditions  and  become 
American  citizens  by  naturahzation. 

No  study  of  the  Japanese  situation  in  Hawaii 
would  be  adequate  that  did  not  take  full  account  of 
the  Christian  movement  among  them.  Soon  after 
Japanese  began  to  come  in  considerable  numbers  to 
the  Hawaiian  Islands,  American  Christians  started 
evangehstic  work  especially  for  Japanese.  Even 
before  the  close  of  the  last  century  the  Hawaiian 
mission  board  established  a  Japanese  section,  se- 
curing Reverend  0.  H.  Gulick  to  become  its  super- 
intendent. Bom  in  Hawaii  of  missionary  parents, 
and  a  master  of  its  language,  he  had  spent  nearly 
twenty-five  years  in  Japan  in  missionary  service 
and  was  therefore  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  task  of 
introducing  Americans,  Hawaiians,  and  Japanese 
to  each  other. 

The  work  soon  grew  to  such  an  extent  that  in  1900 
Doctor  Doremus  Scudder  was  called  from  a  suc- 
cessful pastorate  in  Massachusetts.    In  preparing 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    247 

for  his  task  he  visited  Japan,  where  he  had  spent 
five  years  as  a  missionary;  he  visited  aU  those  sec- 
tions of  Japan  from  which  Japanese  laborers  had 
gone  to  the  islands.  In  response  to  his  offer  to 
carry  letters  to  long-absent  sons,  he  was  deluged 
with  some  twenty  thousand.  On  arrival  in  Hawaii 
he  visited  all  the  plantations  and  deUvered  the  let- 
ters in  person  so  far  as  possible.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  a  highly  valuable  relationship  and  se- 
cured appreciation  by  the  Japanese  of  the  Christian 
spirit  of  service  and  friendship. 

Individual  Japanese  soon  began  to  respond  to 
the  Christian  appeal.  The  building  up  of  perma- 
nent churches,  however,  has  been  a  highly  difficult 
matter  because  of  the  constant  shifting  of  the  popu- 
lation from  island  to  island,  much  of  it  also  return- 
ing permanently  to  Japan.  Since  1910,  however, 
with  the  development  of  the  new  spirit  among  the 
Japanese  and  the  decision  on  the  part  of  many  to 
remain  permanently  in  the  islands,  the  growth  of  the 
churches  has  been  more  steady  and  wholesome. 

According  to  the  most  recent  statistics  there  are 
in  the  five  islands  30  Japanese  churches  having  a  total 
membership  of  2,149,  and  a  Sabbath-school  atten- 
dance of  2,779  children.  The  Japanese  churches  are 
served  by  a  faithful,  self-sacrificing  group  of  some 
25  pastors  and  evangehsts,  men  of  rare  spirit  and 
consecration,  who  could  easily  double  and  treble 
their  income  were  they  to  enter  on  business  careers. 


248    DEMOCRACY  AND   ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

The  American  superintendent  of  the  Japanese  work 
has  for  some  years  been  Reverend  Frank  Scudder, 
who  also  rendered  missionary  service  in  Japan  of 
ten  or  a  dozen  years.  No  more  important  factor 
is  at  work  in  the  Americanizing  of  Japanese  in  the 
islands  than  that  of  the  Christian  gospel  with  the 
ideals  which  it  presents  of  God  and  man,  husband  and 
wife,  parents  and  children,  the  dignity  of  labor,  and 
emphasizing  as  it  does  the  sacredness  of  all  the  social 
and  racial  relations  and  duties. 

The  civilization  and  social  order  of  America  is 
essentially  Christian.  Those  foreigners  who  become 
genuine  Christians  are  much  more  likely  to  become 
loyal  American  citizens  than  those  foreigners  who 
cling  to  their  ancestral  faiths  and  superstitions  or, 
even  if  these  are  abandoned,  become  mere  material- 
ists without  religious  ideas  or  convictions. 

As  is  now  quite  clear,  the  American  Japanese 
problem  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  is  quite  unique.  A 
relatively  small  American  minority,  about  15,000  all 
told,  is  seeking  to  Americanize  vastly  larger  groups 
of  diverse  races.  Biologically,  of  course,  it  is  im- 
possible. Complete  intermarriage  of  the  races 
would  in  time  completely  swallow  up  the  white. 
Hawaii's  population  in  all  probability  will  become 
increasingly  a  mixture  of  Japanese,  Chinese,  Ha- 
waiian, and  white,  the  pure  bloods  constituting  a 
constantly  diminishing  proportion.  There  is,  how- 
ever, reason  for  holding  that  if  the  matter  is  rightly 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    249 

handled,  the  entire  population  of  the  islands  may 
gain  such  mastery  of  the  English  language,  and  may 
be  so  permeated  with  American  ideas  and  ideals 
that  the  Territory  of  Hawaii  may  be  as  truly  Amer- 
ican as  any  section  of  the  mainland.  To  secure 
these  results,  however,  not  only  the  Territorial  peo- 
ple and  government  must  do  their  respective  parts, 
but  the  federal  government  also  must  make  ios  con- 
tribution. 

While  at  present,  as  we  have  seen  above,  out  of 
18,981  enjoying  the  suffrage  10,713  are  Hawaiian 
and  part  Hawaiian,  and  American  voters  number 
3,284,  Portuguese  2,610,  Chinese  777,  and  British 
648,  yet  within  two  or  three  decades  Japanese  will 
constitute  the  largest  single  body  of  voters.  Chi- 
nese, Portuguese,  and  Filipinos  will  also  constitute 
important  groups.  Shall  these  race  groups  be 
ranged  in  soHd  bodies  contending  selfishly  for  race 
rule  and  economic  advantage,  or  shaU  they  co- 
operate cordially  for  the  general  weKare  on  the 
basis  of  genuine  democracy?  These  are  not  ques- 
tions of  merely  academic  interest.  They  are  highly 
practical  and  demand  the  best  study  of  our  best 
thinkers  and  the  earnest  activities  of  all  good  citi- 
zens of  each  of  the  races  concerned. 

A  few  further  facts  may  well  be  given  as  throwing 
light  on  the  interesting  question  of  Japanese  develop- 
ment and  place  among  the  races  contributing  to  the 
new  race  mixture  arising  in  Hawaii.    Of  the  five 


250    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

daily  papers  in  Hawaii,  three  are  Japanese  and  two 
are  English.  Of  the  seven  weeklies,  one  is  Japanese, 
two  are  Enghsh,  two  Hawaiian,  and  one  is  Portu- 
guese. There  are  three  EngUsh  semi-weekhes  and 
one  Korean.  There  are  four  Chinese  tri-weekhes, 
and,  as  for  the  monthhes,  there  are  four  Japanese, 
one  Chinese,  seven  EngUsh,  two  Korean,  one  FiHpino, 
and  one  Hawaiian.  The  number  of  publications  to 
each  language,  therefore,  is:  English  14,  Japanese  8, 
Chinese  5,  Hawaiian  3,  Korean  3,  Portuguese  1,  and 
Filipino  1. 

In  the  matter  of  criminality  Japanese  make  an 
excellent  record.  While  the  average  percentage  of 
those  convicted  for  the  entire  population  was,  in 
1915,  4.12  per  cent,  the  criminality  of  the  whites 
was  2.26  per  cent,  Japanese  2.39  per  cent,  Hawaiian 
3.02  per  cent,  Chinese  6.19  per  cent,  and  of  the  rest 
13.12  per  cent.  Of  those  who  appeared  before  the 
Juvenile  Court,  in  spite  of  their  large  population  the 
Japanese  have  the  smallest  figure  to  their  discredit: 
Hawaiians  222,  Chinese  103,  Portuguese  90,  and 
Japanese  51  for  the  boys,  and  for  the  girls  the  figures 
stand  respectively  64,  11,  11,  and  3. 

These  facts  show  that  the  Japanese  are  an  intelli- 
gent and  also  an  orderly,  law-respecting  people — 
which  promises  well  for  their  wholesome  co-opera- 
tion in  democratic  government. 

The  Chinese  situation  in  Hawaii  is  relatively 
simple,   partly   because   their   numbers   are   com- 


SITUATION  IN  THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS    251 

paratively  small,  and  also  partly  because  they  are 
not  aggressive  like  the  Japanese  and  are  not  sup- 
ported by  a  wide-awake  government,  constantly 
looking  out  for  the  interests  of  its  people. 

The  Chinese  population  in  Hawaii  in  1900  was 
25,767,  which  fell  to  21,674  in  1910.  Of  these, 
17,148  were  males  and  4,526  were  females,  of  whom 
2,422  were  girls  under  fifteen  years  of  age.  There 
were  421  unmarried  women  over  15  years  of  age 
and  1,555  were  married  women.  In  1916  the  esti- 
mated Chinese  population  was  21,954.  The  mar- 
riage of  Chinese  men  with  Hawaiian  women  has 
been  going  on  for  decades  with  results  approved  of 
all,  for  the  offspring  are  generally  regarded  as  su- 
perior to  either  parent,  inheriting  the  good  quahties 
of  both. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
CONCLUSION 

In  the  chapter  dealing  with  our  treatment  of  the 
Chinese,  attention  was  called  to  the  pledge  of  our 
government  that  in  case  of  ill  treatment  "the 
United  States  will  exert  all  its  powers  to  devise 
measures  for  their  protection  and  to  secure  to  them 
the  same  rights  and  privileges,  unmunities,  and 
exemptions  as  may  be  enjoyed  by  the  citizens  and 
subjects  of  the  most  favored  nation."  Thus  far, 
Congress  has  ignored  this  promise. 

Now  that  the  whole  world  begins  to  realize  how 
important  it  is  for  a  nation  to  keep  with  utmost  care 
its  treaty  obligations,  has  not  the  time  come  for 
Congress  to  take  the  needed  action  ? 

In  this  matter,  moreover,  we  are  bound  by  numer- 
ous treaties  with  many  other  countries  also  respect- 
ing the  rights  of  aliens. 

For  example,  the  treaty  of  1871  with  Italy  con- 
tains the  following  reciprocal  pledges: 

"The  citizens  of  each  of  the  high  contracting 
parties  shall  receive  in  the  states  and  territories  of 
the  other  the  most  constant  protection  and  security 
for  their  persons  and  property,  and  shall  enjoy  in 
this  respect  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  are  or 

252 


CONCLUSION  253 

may  be  granted  to  the  natives  on  their  submitting 
themselves  to  the  conditions  imposed  upon  the 
natives." 

The  personal  and  property  rights  of  aUens  have, 
nevertheless,  been  repeatedly  violated,  and,  as  a 
result,  the  friendly  relations  existing  between  the 
United  States  and  foreign  countries  have  been 
jeopardized. 

Honorable  William  H.  Taft  has  given  a  Hst^  of 
seventy-three  ahens  of  different  nationahties  lynched 
or  murdered  in  other  ways  between  1885  and  1910, 
in  addition  to  those  who  were  wounded.  Thou- 
sands have  been  driven  from  their  homes  and  their 
property  destroyed  by  lawless  mobs. 

In  all  these  cases  the  federal  government  has 
acknowledged  its  responsibiUty  by  paying  indem- 
nities, but  it  has  not  been  able  either  to  give  protec- 
tion in  case  of  threatened  danger  or  of  prosecution  of 
those  who  committed  the  crimes,  owing  to  lack  of 
legislation  authorizing  the  federal  authorities  to 
take  the  needful  actions.  In  support  of  this  state- 
ment the  words  of  four  recent  presidents  are  offered : 

President  Harrison,  just  after  the  Mafia  case  at 
New  Orleans  in  1891,  said: 

"It  would,  I  believe,  be  entirely  competent  for 
Congress  to  make  offenses  against  the  treaty  rights 
of  foreigners  domiciled  in  the  United  States  cog- 
nizable in  the  federal  courts.    This  has  not,  however, 
» "  The  United  States  and  Peace." 


254    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC  CITIZENSHIP 

been  done,  and  the  federal  officers  and  courts  have 
no  power  in  such  cases  to  intervene  either  for  the 
protection  of  a  foreign  citizen  or  for  the  punishment 
of  his  slayers." 

President  McKinley,  in  his  annual  message  of 
December  5,  1899,  used  these  words: 

"For  the  fourth  time  in  the  present  decade  the 
question  has  arisen  with  the  government  of  Italy 
in  regard  to  the  lynching  of  Itahan  subjects.  The 
latest  of  these  deplorable  events  occurred  at  Tallu- 
lah,  Louisiana,  whereby  five  unfortunates  of  Italian 
origin  were  taken  from  jail  and  hanged.  .  .  .  The 
recurrence  of  these  distressing  manifestations  of 
blind  mob  fury,  directed  at  dependents  or  natives  of 
a  foreign  coimtry,  suggests  that  the  contingency 
has  arisen  for  action  by  Congress  in  the  direction 
of  conferring  upon  the  federal  courts  jurisdiction  in 
this  class  of  international  cases  where  the  ultimate 
responsibiHty  of  the  federal  government  may  be 
involved." 

President  Roosevelt,  in  his  annual  message  of 
December,  1906,  said: 

"One  of  the  greatest  embarrassments  attending 
the  performance  of  our  international  obHgations  is 
the  fact  that  the  statutes  of  the  United  States  are 
entirely  inadequate.  They  fail  to  give  to  the  na- 
tional government  sufficiently  ample  power,  through 
United  States  courts  and  by  the  use  of  the  army  and 
navy,  to  protect  aliens  in  the  rights  secured  to  them 
under  solemn  treaties  which  are  the  law  of  the  land. 
I  therefore  earnestly  recommend  that  the  criminal 
and  civil  statutes  of  the  United  States  be  so  amended 


CONCLUSION  255 

and  added  to  as  to  enable  the  President,  acting  for 
the  United  States  Government,  which  is  responsible 
in  our  international  relations,  to  enforce  the  rights 
of  aUens  under  treaties.  There  should  be  no  par- 
ticle of  doubt  as  to  the  power  of  the  national  govern- 
ment completely  to  perform  and  enforce  its  own 
obligations  to  other  nations.  The  mob  of  a  single 
city  may  at  any  time  perform  acts  of  lawless  violence 
against  some  class  of  foreigners  which  would  plunge 
us  into  war.  That  city  by  itself  would  be  powerless 
to  make  defense  against  the  foreign  power  thus 
assaulted,  and  if  independent  of  this  government  it 
would  never  venture  to  perform  or  permit  the  per- 
formance of  the  acts  complained  of.  The  entire 
power  and  the  whole  duty  to  protect  the  offending 
city  or  the  offending  community  lies  in  the  hands  of 
the  United  States  Government.  It  is  unthinkable 
that  we  should  continue  a  policy  under  which  a 
given  locahty  may  be  allowed  to  commit  a  crime 
against  a  friendly  nation,  and  the  United  States 
Government  limited,  not  to  prevention  of  the  com- 
mission of  the  crime,  but,  in  the  last  resort,  to  de- 
fending the  people  who  have  committed  it  against 
the  consequences  of  their  wrongdoing." 

President  Taft,  in  his  inaugural  address,  March 
4,  1909,  said: 

"By  proper  legislation  we  may,  and  ought  to, 
place  in  the  hands  of  the  federal  executive  the  means 
of  enforcing  the  treaty  rights  of  such  aliens  in  the 
courts  of  the  federal  government.  It  puts  our 
government  in  a  pusillanimous  position  to  make 
definite  engagements  to  protect  aUens  and  then  to 
excuse  the  failure  to  perform  those  engagements  by 
an  explanation  that  the  duty  to  keep  them  is  in 


256    DEMOCRACY  AND  ASIATIC   CITIZENSHIP 

States  or  cities  not  within  our  control.  If  we  would 
promise  we  must  put  ourselves  in  a  position  to  per- 
form our  promise.  We  cannot  permit  the  possible 
failure  of  justice,  due  to  local  prejudice  in  any  State 
or  municipal  government,  to  expose  us  to  the  risk 
of  a  war,  which  might  be  avoided  if  federal  jurisdic- 
tion was  asserted  by  suitable  legislation  by  Congress 
and  carried  out  by  proper  proceedings  instituted  by 
the  executive  in  the  courts  of  the  national  govern- 
ment." 

In  1912  a  bill  was  prepared  and  introduced  into 
the  House  enabHng  the  federal  government  to 
execute  its  treaty  obligations  for  the  protection  of 
ahens  resident  in  the  United  States.  This  bill, 
drafted  by  Honorable  William  H.  Taft,  himself,  was 
endorsed  by  the  American  Bar  Association.  No 
action,  however,  was  taken  by  Congress.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  understand  why  Congress  has  so  long  failed 
to  pass  the  necessary  law.  Is  not  the  real  reason  the 
apathy  of  the  responsible  citizens  of  the  United 
States  in  regard  to  international  relations,  responsi- 
biHties,  and  duties? 

In  conclusion,  then,  we  earnestly  invite  all  those 
who  sympathize  with  the  view  and  proposals  pre- 
sented in  these  pages  to  consider  how  they  may  most 
effectively  co-operate  for  their  reahzation. 

What  is  now  needed  is  a  League  for  Constructive 
Immigration  Legislation,  composed  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  citizens  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  who  will 
aid  in  the  education  of  our  people  in  these  matters 


CONCLUSION  257 

of  international  duties  and  responsibilities,  and  who 
will  bring  such  pressure  to  bear  on  the  legislators 
at  Washington  as  shall  in  time  secure  the  enactment 
of  the  needed  laws.  In  the  briefest  form  these  laws 
should  enable  the  administration 

To  give  adequate  federal  protection  to  aliens  resident 
in  the  United  States; 

To  restrict  all  immigration  to  such  numbers  from 
each  people  as  we  can  really  Americanize,  and 

To  give  privileges  of  citizenship  to  every  person  who 
qualifies  for  it,  regardless  of  his  race. 


CENTRAL  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
University  of  California,  San  Diego 

DATE  DUE 

DEC  04  1975 

DEC  2  7  1975 

- 

CI  39 

UCSD  Libr. 

